US and British forces carried out a series of new strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, according to a joint statement, weeks after attacks by Iranian-backed rebels on ships in the Red Sea.
The joint statement said, “The necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets in eight locations in Yemen linked to underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-directional attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and helicopters.” The statement, which was signed by Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand, added that “more than 45 Houthi attacks on commercial and military ships since mid-November pose a threat to the global economy as well as regional security and stability and require an international response.”
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement that the Royal Air Force carried out a fourth wave of precision strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
He added in a statement via his account on the “X” platform: “Together with our allies, we targeted drones and missile launchers that the Houthis use to launch their dangerous attacks.”
Shapps pointed out that in recent days, the Houthis targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including the British ships Islander and Rubymar, forcing the crews to leave them.
He said: “Our duty is to protect lives at sea and preserve freedom of navigation.”
For its part, the Houthi group announced that it had targeted an American oil ship in the Gulf of Aden with a number of missiles.
The military spokesman for the Houthi group, Yahya Saree, said on the “X” platform that the Air Force targeted a number of American warships in the Red Sea with drones.
He added: “We confirm that we will confront the American-British escalation with more qualitative military operations against all hostile targets in the Red and Arab Bahrain.”
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2024-02-25 05:07:58
