By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
SANAA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – The Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthis group has condemned the United States and Britain for carrying out up to 22 airstrikes in the capital, Sanaa, and its countryside and warned it would retaliate with more attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
“The U.S. British aggression also launched two airstrikes on the communications network in the Qaradha area of Haifan district and launched another raid on the communications network in the Shamir area of Maqbanah district in Taiz governorate,” it added.
U.S. officials said earlier that American and British fighter jets hit sites in eight locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones, and air defense systems.
It was the fourth round of U.S.-British strikes against the Houthis amid continuous attacks by the rebel group against commercial vessels in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Houthis said they will continue the attacks till the Israeli military will halt its offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
However, the U.S. and Britain made clear they won’t be intimidated by the Houthis. Their air strikes had the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed.
Austin said the militaries targeted eight locations, including underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter.
PRECISION STRIKES
These “precision strikes” were to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to “threaten global trade, naval vessels, and the lives of innocent mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” the countries supporting the strikes said.
Austin added that 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.”
He said, “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.”
Britain’s Defense Secretary Grant Shapps echoed Austin on the “severe” Houthi attacks against ships in the Red Sea. He said they affected the British-owned MV Islander and the MV Rubymar, which led the crew to abandon the vessel.
“It is our duty to protect lives and sea and preserve freedom of navigation,” Shapps said.
The Biden administration earlier this year re-designated the Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization after multiple attacks by the militant group on ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis said they attacked a U.S. oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden with precision missiles, among other ships.
The escalation in the Red Sea and the growing U.S. military involvement comes amid fears that tensions heightened by the Israel-Hamas war could boil over into a larger regional conflict.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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