US and UK troops launched a new round of strikes against 18 Houthi targets in Yemen after weeks of relentless attacks by Iran-backed rebels on Red Sea ships.
According to the statement, the military operation specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen associated with Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defence systems, radars, and a helicopter.
Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand all signed the statement, which expressed unclear support for the fresh wave of strikes, the second this month and the fourth since the rebels began attacking ships in the region.
“The Houthis’ now more than 45 attacks on commercial and naval vessels since mid-November constitute a threat to the global economy, as well as regional security and stability, and demand an international response”, the statement reads.
Saturday’s action comes after several merchant vessels were damaged in the region last week, including the fertilizer-laden Rubymar, whose crew was forced to abandon ship after it was hit on Sunday and began taking on water.
Aside from cooperative operations with Britain, the US has launched multiple unilateral strikes against Houthi positions and armaments in Yemen, claiming self-defense, and has shot down air and sea-borne drones in the Red Sea.
“The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways”, Pentagon commander Lloyd Austin said in a separate statement following the attacks.
“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage, and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries”, Austin added.
The Houthis claim they are targeting Israel-linked vessels to support Palestinians in Gaza, which has been devastated by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Following prior US and UK strikes, the Huthis proclaimed US and British interests to be valid targets as well.
Anger over Israel’s destructive campaign in Gaza, which began with an unprecedented Hamas offensive on October 7, has spread throughout the Middle East, inciting conflict between Iran-backed factions in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
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