Australia part of US, UK strikes against Houthis in Yemen, says defense chief

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Australia was part of the joint strikes targeting multiple Houthi targets inside Yemen, Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed on Friday.

“Australia's support of these actions came in the form of personnel in the operational headquarters,” Marles told reporters in Geelong, Victoria.

The action taken was about “maintaining freedom of navigation on the high seas,” SBS News reported.

The US and UK carried out strikes on multiple targets inside Yemen late Thursday "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels," US President Joe Biden said.

Earlier, Canberra had refused to send its warship to the Red Sea to join the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, a defensive coalition of over 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden.

But Australia increased its deployment of soldiers in the region and CENTCOM has insisted the latest strikes "have no association with” Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Biden said the Houthi attacks that prompted the allied strikes "have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners and our partners, jeopardized trade and threatened freedom of navigation."

The attack comes in response to ongoing drone and missile strikes by the Yemeni group, which is backed by Iran, on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea that began in November in response to Israel's war on Gaza.

The Red Sea is a critical waterway for international commerce, particularly for oil and fuel shipments, connecting the Suez Canal in Egypt with the Gulf of Aden via the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The Houthis have carried out 27 attacks in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, the US military said earlier Thursday.