US and UK launch missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen

US and British forces have launched missile strikes against more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, Washington officials have said.

It marks the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked group that continues to attack shipping in the region. A joint statement said the strikes were against 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen including underground weapons and missile storage facilities, and air defence systems, radars and a helicopter.

The statement said the airstrikes were in response to recent attacks on US- and UK-registered ships in the region. It is believed the strikes were fired from Britain’s Akrotiri air base in Cyprus, and are the biggest attack on the Houthis from the west in several weeks.

“The militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted an additional round of strikes against several targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” it said.

“These precision strikes are intended 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 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 aadded.

The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said the strikes were meant “to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia”, adding: “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.”

Four RAF Typhoon FGR4s, supported by two Voyager tankers, participated in coalition strikes against Houthi rebels on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence said.

The airstrikes targeted “Houthi military facilities in Yemen which had been conducting missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping and coalition naval forces in the Bab al Mandab, southern Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden,” the MoD said.
“The RAF aircraft were allocated multiple targets located at two sites.

“Intelligence analysis had successfully identified several very long-range drones, used by the Houthis for both reconnaissance and attack missions, at a former surface-to-air missile battery site several miles north east of Sana’a.

“Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision guided bombs against the drones and their launchers, notwithstanding the Houthis’ use of the old missile battery revetments to try to protect the drones.”

It added: “In planning the strikes, as is normal practice with such RAF operations, the greatest possible care was taken to minimise any risk of civilian casualties.”

The military action follows previous RAF strikes on 11 January and 3 February.

Earlier this week the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on an American destroyer, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.

The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal trade shortcut that accounts for about 12% of global maritime traffic, and forcing firms to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

No ships have been sunk nor crew killed during the Houthi campaign. However there are concerns about the fate of the UK-registered Rubymar cargo vessel, which was struck on 18 February forcing its crew to evacuate.