United Kingdom: The Houthi militant group, which is aligned with Iran, is still attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea. As a result, the United States and the United Kingdom have launched a new round of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
Since November, the Houthis, who hold sway over a large portion of Yemen, have attacked dozens of ships in the main waterway, disrupting international maritime trade and igniting fears about the effects on the world economy.
Targeting a Houthi underground storage facility as well as missile and surveillance capabilities, the US and UK announced on Monday that they had launched eight strikes with assistance from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners,” the joint statement said.
According to the Houthis, the attacks are a show of support for the Palestinian people and a reaction to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Since mid-November, the armed group has attacked foreign shipping more than thirty times, the UK Ministry of Defence has reported.
De-escalating tensions and restoring stability in the Red Sea were the stated goals of the attacks on Houthi sites, in addition to holding the group “accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on mariners and commercial shipping.”
The Houthis declared that they had successfully attacked the US military cargo ship Ocean Jazz in the Gulf of Aden, which prompted Monday’s attacks.
Defending the claims as “patently false,” US Naval Forces Central Command stated that it had “maintained constant communications with M/V Ocean Jazz throughout its safe transit.”
The Houthis did not disclose the exact time or location of the attack or whether any harm was done.
TOP PICK | DeSantis withdraws from US presidential race
