The United States and United Kingdom launched a new round of strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen in response to more than 30 attacks the group has carried out against cargo ships and chemical tankers near the Arabian Peninsula over the last few months.
The new round of strikes were carried out with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, according to the Department of Defense. The statement did not specify what type of support the aforementioned countries provided.
The Pentagon, which described the strikes as “proportionate and necessary,” said that it hit 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen.
“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, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda,” the statement said.
The strikes “specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars.”
The Biden administration said its sole goal was to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea.”
“Let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats,” the statement concluded.
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