Friday 27 / December / 2024
Washington, DC: The US and UK have carried out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, marking the eighth round of attacks by the US military in the past 10 days, CNN reported, citing a joint statement.
In the latest development, the countries attacked the rebels' infrastructure on Monday and struck eight sites, as per a joint statement from the US and UK.
The two countries conducted the strikes, and Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Australia supported the attacks, according to CNN.
Notably, the recent strikes on Houthi targets were "successful" and destroyed missiles, weapons storage sites and drone systems, a senior military official and a senior defence official stated.
The officials, who briefed reporters following the Monday afternoon operation, said the strikes "achieved the desired effect."
However, the strike that was conducted on January 11 was smaller as compared to the first joint operation, which struck over 30 Houthi targets.
Reportedly, Monday's strikes targeted a Houthi underground storage site and site associates with Houthi missiles and air surveillance, the statement added, according to CNN.
The senior military official said that the US used fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as surface vessels and a submarine, to strike eight locations.
He further added that approximately 25-30 precision guided munitions were fired at the targets, including Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden held a conversation with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, and they discussed several topics, including security in the Red Sea, according to the White House statement.
"Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways in the face of continued threats," the countries said in their statement.
Furthermore, for the first time, the US also struck an underground storage facility used by the Houthis, the official said, as reported by CNN.
The storage site was assessed to have "more advanced conventional weaponry," including missiles and one-way attack drones.
Grant Shapps, the UK's secretary of state for defence, noted that four British Typhoon fighter jets took part in the strikes on Houthi targets. He warned that the ongoing Houthi launches against commercial vessels "threaten the lives of sailors and disrupt shipping at an intolerable cost to the global economy."
Reportedly, the USS has named the ongoing operation targeting Houthi assets in Yemen as "Operation Poseidon Archer," which suggests a more organised and potentially long-term approach to the operations in Yemen that have been aimed at dissuading the Iranian-backed group from attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Since January 11, the US has now struck Houthi targets in Yemen eight times, the majority of which have been carried out unilaterally, as reported by CNN.
The first wave of strikes, in which the US and UK hit approximately 30 sites across Houthi-controlled Yemen, marked the beginning of Operation Poseidon Archer, according to an official.
Moreover, the officials emphasised that the latest strikes were specifically intended to target the Houthi weapons and supporting capabilities used to target international shipping lanes, describing them as similar in nature to the first round of coalition strikes against Houthi targets on January 11.
"We are not at this time expanding beyond that target set," the senior military official said.
According to US officials, Iran has been silently fueling the attacks, enabling and supporting its proxy groups across the region.
Moreover, Tehran has been supplying the Houthis with tactical intelligence and weapons to help them target ships in the Red Sea, as reported by CNN.
