US and Britain launch strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen after attacks on Western ships in the Red Sea

This Thursday night, the United States and the United Kingdom began a Offensive attack on Houthi military targets in Yemen after several attacks of the rebel group for sea transportation in the Red Sea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this on Wednesday “There will be consequences” Following the Houthi attack, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps told reporters that they would “keep an eye on this location.”

For their part, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, He warned that any attack by US-led forces against Houthi positions would provoke a fierce military response.

The strikes mark the first U.S. military response against the Houthis for their sustained campaign of drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels in Israel since the beginning of the war and signal growing international concern about the threat to many countries around the world. Are. The most important waterway.

American and British forces Tomahawk missiles launched from warships have been used and fighter jets in the strikes, multiple U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

He said military targets included logistics centers, air defense systems and weapons storage sites.

The Associated Press noted that The United States and Britain have bombed more than a dozen sites It has been used extensively as a counter-offensive by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council last Wednesday approved The resolution called on the Houthis to immediately end attacks. And indirectly condemned its arms supplier Iran. It was approved by 11 votes to zero, with four abstentions: Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique.

Britain’s involvement in the attacks was underlined The Biden administration’s effort to use a broad international coalition to fight the Houthis, Instead of looking like he’s doing it alone. More than 20 countries are already participating in a US-led maritime mission to enhance ship security in the Red Sea.

For weeks, US officials had refused to signal when international patience would run out and they would retaliate against the Houthis, even as several commercial ships were attacked by missiles and drones, prompting companies to Had to consider diverting our ships.

However, on Wednesday US officials again warned of consequences.

The Biden administration’s reluctance to retaliate in recent months reflects political sensitivity and was largely driven by broader concerns about dismantling the fragile ceasefire in Yemen and triggering a broader conflict in the region. The White House wants to preserve the ceasefire and is wary of taking steps in Yemen that could open another front of war.

The Houthis have carried out There have been dozens of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea since late November And he says his goal is to stop Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Most of the ships attacked have no connection with Israel.

“The response to any US attack will simply not be on the level of the operation that was carried out recently with more than 24 drones and numerous missiles,” the group’s supreme leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi said during an hour-long speech. ” Duration. “It will be bigger than that.”

on Tuesday Shia Islamist group launches its biggest ever bombardment of drones and missiles against ships in the Red SeaAmerican and British warships and American fighter planes shot down 18 drones, two cruise missiles and one anti-ship missile, the episode to which al-Houthi was likely referring.

Rebels have launched 27 attacks using dozens of drones and missiles since November 19.