The US and British militaries conducted retaliatory strikes on multiple Houthi targets in Yemen on Thursday, in what the US called a "direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea."
Warship and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets pounded Houthi targets, including logistical hubs, air defense systems and weapons storage and launching locations.
A statement by US President Joe Biden read: "Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces—together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways."
Biden added that he will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.
The attacks came after US and its allies made attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation, the statement added.
Global media reports said four explosions were heard early Friday local time in Yemen's capital Sanaa but saw no warplanes. Two residents of Hodieda told Associated Press that they heard five strong explosions hit the western port area of the city, which lies on the Red Sea and is the largest port city controlled by the Houthis. Explosions also were heard by residents of Taiz, a southwestern city near the Red Sea.
This is the first response from the allies against the continious drone and missile attacks carried out on cargo vessels since the start of Israel-Hamas war. The Houthi have attacked 27 ships to date, disrupting international commerce on the key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15% of the world's shipping traffic, according to Reuters.
Last week, the US had issued a final warning to the Houthis to cease the attacks or face potential military action. Though the attacks seemed to stop for several days, Houthi rebels fired their largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea on Tuesday.
The US and UK warships deployed in the region responded by shooting down 18 drones, two cruise missiles and an anti-ship missile. On Thursday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden, which was seen by a commercial ship but did not hit the ship.
In a separate statement, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Royal Air Force carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by the Houthis. "Noting the militants have carried out a series of dangerous attacks on shipping. This cannot stand," Sunak said. He said the U.K. took limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.
Meanwhile, Houthis on Thursday said that any attack by American forces on its sites in Yemen will spark a fierce military response. "The response to any American attack will not only be at the level of the operation that was recently carried out with more than 24 drones and several missiles," said Abdel Malek al-Houthi, the group's supreme leader, during an hour-long speech. "It will be greater than that."
No retaliatory action by the Houthis had occurred yet.