US, UK launch fresh strikes against 36 Houthi targets

The United States and Britain have launched a fresh wave of strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The strikes hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said, adding it targeted 13 locations across the country.

It was the latest sign of spreading conflict in the Middle East since war erupted between Israel and Hamas after the militant Palestinian group’s deadly assault on Israel on October 7.

“This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the U.S. strikes “will not pass without a response and consequences.”

The Yemen strikes are running parallel to an unfolding U.S. campaign of military retaliation over the killing of three American soldiers in a drone strike by Iran-backed militants on an outpost in Jordan.

On Friday, the U.S. carried out the first wave of that retaliation, striking in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40 people.

While Washington accuses Iran-backed militias of attacking U.S. troops at bases in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, Yemen’s Iran-linked Houthis have been regularly targeting commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza. But the U.S. and its allies characterize them as indiscriminate and a menace to global trade.

Faced with mounting Red Sea violence, major shipping lines have largely abandoned the critical trade route for longer routes around Africa. This has increased costs, feeding worries about global inflation while sapping Egypt of crucial foreign revenue from shippers sailing the Suez Canal to or from the Red Sea.

Biden’s emerging strategy on Yemen aims to weaken the Houthi militants but stops well short of trying to defeat the group or directly attack Iran, the Houthis’ main sponsor, experts say.

The strategy blends limited military strikes and sanctions, and appears aimed at punishing the Houthis while attempting to limit the risk of a broad Middle East conflict.

The U.S. has carried out more than a dozen strikes against Houthi targets in the past several weeks, but these have failed to stop attacks by the group.