US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Carney defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and drones in the Red Sea on October 19, 2023.
US Navy/MCS2 Aaron Lau
The US and UK launched strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday.The strikes come after repeated warnings from the US and UK over the Houthis’ attacks on shipping vessels.The Iran-backed rebels have conducted 27 attacks on commercial shipping since mid-November.
The US, in coordination with the UK, launched military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in an effort to suppress the group’s ongoing attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
A US defense official confirmed to Business Insider that strikes were launched from airborne, surface, and subsurface platforms.
Training facilities and drone storage facilitates operated by the Houthis are among the more than a dozen targets, VOA News reported Thursday evening.
The strikes against the Houthis follow repeated warnings from the US and the UK and others that the Iran-backed rebels would face consequences if they did not stop attacking international shipping lanes off the coast of Yemen.
On Jan. 3, the US and over a dozen allies issued a statement condemning the Houthis for their provocations, demanding an end to the attacks, and warning them against further incidents.
The following day, a senior Biden administration official told reporters they “would not anticipate another warning” for the rebels.
But this did little to deter the Houthis. Not even a week later, on Tuesday, the rebels launched their largest-ever attack, forcing US and UK naval assets to shoot down 18 one-way attack drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile. Dozens of merchant ships were operating in the southern Red Sea at the time, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.
Western officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, condemned the Houthis on Wednesday and issued a new round of warnings. One day later, on Thursday, the rebels fired another anti-ship ballistic missile into waters off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis have launched scores of missiles and drones into surrounding waters over the past few months, often drawing engagement from US warships, in attacks that the rebels claim are a result of the Israel-Hamas war. Western officials, however, have slammed the group for threatening countries around the world and creating a global problem by disrupting critical supply routes.
