U.S. and British forces struck 18 Houthi targets, including underground weapons and missile storage facilities, officials said.
The United States and Britain have bombed more than a dozen Houthi strongholds in Yemen as rebels step up attacks on ships in the Red Sea to protest Israel's war on Gaza, officials said.
The United States and Britain said in a joint statement on Saturday that the military action against 18 Houthi targets in Yemen includes attacks on underground weapons and missile storage facilities, air defense systems, radars and helicopters.
The operation marks the fourth joint attack by U.S. and British forces against the Houthis since January 12.
The United States also conducts near-daily attacks using incoming missiles, rockets, and drones targeting commercial ships and other naval vessels to eliminate Houthi targets. But the attacks have so far failed to stop the Houthis, disrupting global trade and raising shipping prices.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the attack was aimed at “further disrupting and diminishing the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia.”
“We urge the Houthis to stop their illegal attacks that are damaging Middle Eastern economies, causing environmental damage, and disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries, or they will face the consequences. We will continue to make that clear,” Austin said. .
The attack was supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
The Houthis condemned the “American and British aggression” and vowed to continue military operations.
“The Yemeni military confirms that it will counter US and UK escalation with higher quality military operations against all hostile targets in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea in order to protect our country, our people and our nation,” the group said. said in a statement.
The Houthis have launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace has accelerated in recent days.
A Houthi spokesman claimed on Saturday that the US-flagged and operated chemical and oil tanker MV Toum Tor had been attacked, and that the Houthis had used “a large number of suitable naval missiles” to attack the vessel. He said he was targeted.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the attack and said its forces shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired from Yemen's Houthi-controlled area into the Gulf of Aden, adding that the missile may have targeted the MV Torum Toul. He added that it was expensive.
There was no damage to the tanker and no one was injured.
Earlier this week, the Houthis also claimed responsibility for an attack on a British-owned cargo ship and a drone attack on a US destroyer, and said they had targeted the Israeli port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones. .
No ships were sunk and no crew members were killed during the Houthi operation.
However, there are concerns about the fate of the British-flagged cargo ship Rubimar, whose crew was evacuated after it was hit on February 18. The US military said the Rubimar was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer at the time of the collision, which could spill into the Red Sea and cause an environmental disaster.
The turmoil caused by Israel's war in Gaza has spread to other parts of the Middle East.
Apart from Houthi attacks on vital shipping lanes, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group has engaged in a firefight with Israel along the Israel-Lebanon border, and pro-Iranian Iraqi militias have attacked bases housing U.S. troops. did.