The US and the UK struck 13 Houthi targets in several locations in Yemen on Thursday in response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, three US officials said.
The Houthi rebels said the airstrikes killed at least 16 people and wounded 35.
According to the officials, American and British fighter jets and US ships hit a wide range of underground facilities, missile launchers, command and control sites, a Houthi vessel and other facilities.
The officials spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to provide early details of an ongoing military operation.
Also struck by the US were eight uncrewed aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that were determined to present a threat to US and coalition forces.
“We confirm this brutal aggression against Yemen as punishment for its position in support of Gaza, in support of Israel to continue its crimes of genocide against the wounded, besieged and steadfast Gaza Strip,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote on the social platform X.
The strikes came a day after a US drone went down in Yemen. The Houthis released footage they said showed the aircraft being targeted with a surface-to-air missile in a desert region of Yemen’s central Marib province. It was the third such downing in May.
Also earlier this week, missile attacks twice damaged a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Thursday's attack is the fifth the US and British militaries have conducted jointly against the Houthis since 12 January. The US also has been carrying out almost daily strikes to take out Houthi targets, including incoming missiles and drones aimed at ships, as well as weapons that were prepared to launch.
The Houthis in recent months have stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.
