US and UK launch fresh strikes on Houthis in Yemen

The US and UK have conducted a fresh series of joint air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Pentagon said Monday’s strikes hit eight targets, including an underground storage site and Houthi missile and surveillance capability.

The Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting ships they say are linked to Israel and the West that travel through the important Red Sea trade route.

The US and UK said they were trying to protect the “free flow of commerce”.

A joint statement issued by the Pentagon confirmed “an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes” against the Houthis.

The statement added: “Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats.”

On Tuesday the Pentagon said its assessment was that the strikes destroyed or degraded more than 25 missile launch and deployment facilities.

This is the eighth strike by the US against Houthi targets in Yemen. It is the second joint operation with the UK, after joint strikes were carried out on 11 January.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron told reporters the UK had sent a “clear message” and that it will “continue to degrade” the Houthis’ ability to carry out attacks.

Asked whether the strikes could escalate tensions in the Middle East, Lord Cameron said it was the Houthis who were escalating the situation and he was “confident” the previous strikes had been effective.

He went on to say the Houthis’ narrative that the strikes were related to the war between Israel and Hamas “shouldn’t be accepted”, and the UK wants to see a “swift end to the conflict” in Gaza.

Lord Cameron said the UK had called for an “immediate humanitarian pause” and that “we want it to turn into permanent, sustainable ceasefire”. It is a plan he will put forward when visiting the region this week, he said.

The joint statement said the strikes were carried out with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will give a statement in the House of Commons this afternoon, addressing the UK’s decision to conduct further strikes. Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer was not told about the strikes before they happened, but was seen arriving at the Cabinet Office this morning for a confidential briefing.

US fighter jets from the carrier USS Eisenhower were involved in Monday’s strikes.

Four RAF Typhoons, supported by a pair of Voyager tankers, joined the US forces, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

“Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision guided bombs to strike multiple targets at two military sites in the vicinity of Sanaa airfield. These locations were being used to enable the continued intolerable attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea,” the MoD said.

“In line with UK standard practice, a very rigorous analysis was applied in planning the strikes to minimise any risk of civilian casualties, and as with the previous strikes, our aircraft bombed at night to mitigate yet further any such risks,” it added.

Government minister Huw Merriman told Sky News the airstrikes would “not just be a one-off”, if the Houthis continue to attack ships in the Red Sea.

UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps described the strikes as “self defence” against the Houthis’ “intolerable attacks” on merchant shipping.

“Aimed at degrading Houthi capabilities this action will deal another blow to their limited stockpiles and ability to threaten global trade,” he wrote on X.

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said the party was “concerned about the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea” and they “support the case for limited strikes”, but that it was “absolutely vital that Parliament has an opportunity to have its say, via a debate and a vote”.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported strikes in Yemen’s Sanaa, Taiz and Bayda provinces, including the al-Dailami air base near the capital Sanaa.

Ten days after the first carefully calibrated joint air and missile strike by the US and UK, the Houthis remain defiant.

They have continued to launch a variety of projectiles at shipping passing Yemen’s coastline, in one case mistakenly targeting a ship carrying Russian oil.

Under the newly named Operation Poseidon Archer, US-led strikes have now hit fresh targets, after previously carrying out a number of pre-emptive strikes on Houthi launch sites.

These, say the Pentagon, destroyed missiles just as they were being prepared for launch. Western intelligence recently estimated that at least 30% of Houthi missile stocks had been destroyed or degraded.

Yet the Houthis, who are supplied, trained and advised by Iran, are clearly bent on continuing their attacks on shipping they suspect of being linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

These have earned them much popularity at home, where many Yemenis have been chafing under their brutal rule.

They are also popular with many across the wider Arab world since the Houthis say they are supporting Hamas as part of the Iran-backed ‘Axis of Resistance’ against Israel.

It comes after US President Joe Biden and Mr Sunak spoke earlier on Monday.

In an official readout of their phone call, the White House said Mr Biden and Mr Sunak “discussed ongoing Iranian-backed Houthi attacks against merchant and naval vessels transiting the Red Sea”.

They reiterated “their commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks”, the White House said.

It added: “The president and prime minister discussed the importance of increasing humanitarian aid and civilian protections for people in Gaza, and securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.”