US, UK carry out more strikes against Houthis

HANDOUT/ US Central Command (CENTCOM)/ AFP

US and British forces carried out strikes against more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, officials said, in the latest round of military action against the group that continues to attack shipping in the region.

The United States has carried out near daily strikes against the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and have said their attacks on shipping are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.

The strikes have so far failed to halt the Houthis' attacks, which have upset global trade and raised shipping rates.

A joint statement from countries that either took part in the strikes or provided support, said the military action was against 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen including underground weapons and missile storage facilities, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said "We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries." 

The strikes were supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement, said on Saturday that US and UK forces carried out a series of strikes in the capital, Sanaa.

It quoted an unnamed Houthi military source as saying the renewed raids were "a miserable attempt to prevent Yemen from providing support operations to the Palestinian people in Gaza".

More from International News

News

  • 'Peace is not far away' says Erdogan after Putin meeting

    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, fresh from a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin, said he hopes to discuss a Ukraine-Russia peace plan with US President Donald Trump, adding that "peace is not far away".

  • UAE, Serbia deepen ties with new political agreement

    His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Marko Đurić. have agreed to deepen political coordination after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during talks in Abu Dhabi.

  • UAE strengthens child protection measures

    The UAE has introduced changes to its laws governing the care of children of unknown parentage, expanding custody options and strengthening child protection measures.