The United States and the United Kingdom carried out strikes against dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen, according to two US officials, marking the fourth time the international coalition has launched a combined attack on the Iran-backed rebel group.
The strikes include at least dozens of targets across multiple locations in Yemen, according to one of the officials, including targets in the capital Sanaa and elsewhere. The targets included Houthi weapons, radar sites, command and control center, as well as underground weapons storage facilities.
This latest round of strikes comes after the Pentagon acknowledged that the Houthis have recently carried out more attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden – some of the world’s most critical waterways. On Thursday, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said there had been “an increase in attacks from the Houthis, more consistency” over the past several days.
Those ongoing attacks – which the Houthis say are in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza – have caused a massive drop in ships traveling through the Suez Canal. The passage links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, allowing ships to cut thousands of miles off shipping routes instead of sailing around Africa. In the first half of February, the Suez Canal experienced a 42% drop in monthly transits and an 82% decrease in container tonnage from its peak in 2023, according to the United Nations.
“We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal,” Singh said Thursday, hours after the Houthis hit yet another cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles. “They are very capable, they have sophisticated weapons, and that’s because they continue to get them from Iran.”
That attack was one of a series of successful Houthi missile launches against commercial shipping in recent days, many of which have hit vessels with ties to the US and the UK.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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