The US and Britain have struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the militant group’s attacks on shipping.
It is the fourth joint action taken by the UK and the US in an attempt to deter attacks by the Iran-backed group on vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this week that set fire to a cargo ship.
According to US officials, American and British fighter jets hit about 18 sites across multiple locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones and unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.
The US fighter jets launched from the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which is currently in the Red Sea.
President Biden ordered the strikes after being briefed on the targets on Friday.
The group has launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace has picked up in recent days.
“We’ve certainly seen in the past 48, 72 hours an increase in attacks from the Houthis,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a briefing on Thursday. And she acknowledged that the Houthis have not been deterred.
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“We never said we’ve wiped off the map all of their capabilities,” she told reporters.
“We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal. They are very capable. They have sophisticated weapons, and that’s because they continue to get them from Iran.”
There have been at least 32 US strikes in Yemen over the past month and a half; a few were conducted with allied involvement.
In addition, American warships have taken out dozens of incoming missiles, rockets and drones targeting commercial and other navy vessels.
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