The US and UK-led coalition fighting Yemen-based Houthi militants launched a new round of airstrikes on Saturday in response to a recent surge in maritime attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Pentagon has said.
Since November last year, the militant group has repeatedly attacked naval and commercial vessels, claiming to act in support of the Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war, which has so far left over 29,000 people in Gaza dead.
The fourth joint strike hit 18 targets across eight locations in Yemen associated with “Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter,” according to a statement released by the coalition, which also includes Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
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The coalition claims that the Houthis attacks “demand an international response.” The US Defense Department issued a separate statement saying the United States “will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways.”
Just hours after the airstrike, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that Houthis had targeted a US tanker and warship in response, adding that the missiles aimed at the tanker were shot down. It is not known whether the military ship sustained any damage, IRNA said.
Earlier, the Houthi military declared that it would retaliate against any American or British “aggression” against Yemen.