US, UK carry out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen

The US and UK carried out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday, marking the eighth round of attacks by the US military on the rebels’ infrastructure in just over 10 days, according to a joint statement, reported from CNN.

They struck eight sites, according to the statement from the US and UK, which conducted the strikes, and Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Australia, which supported the attacks.

The latest strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen were "successful” and destroyed missiles, weapons storage sites and drone systems, according to a senior military official and a senior defense official.

The officials, who briefed reporters following the Monday afternoon operation, said the strikes "achieved the desired effect.”

It was a smaller number than the first joint operation on January 11 that struck over 30 Houthi targets. Monday’s strikes targeted a Houthi underground storage site and sites associates with Houthi missile and air surveillance, the statement added.

The US used fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as surface vessels and a submarine to strike eight locations, the senior military official said. In all, the official said approximately 25-30 precision guided munitions were fired at the targets, including Tomahawk cruise missiles.

President Joe Biden spoke to his British counterpart UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, the White House said earlier in the day, about a range of topics including security in the Red Sea.

For the first time, the US also struck an underground storage facility used by the Houthis, the official said. 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 defense, said 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.”





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