UPDATE 2 - US, UK carry out strikes against Houthis inside Yemen

ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT

By Servet Gunerigok and Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - 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.

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

"These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history," he said in a statement. "The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute."

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 Suez Canal allows ships coming to and from Europe to transit to Asia without having to take the much longer and costlier route around the southern tip of Africa.

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

The Al-Masirah TV channel, which belongs to the Houthis, announced that the Yemeni capital Sanaa was being subjected to "American aggression.” Meanwhile, Houthi leader Ali al-Qahoum said the rebel group is targeting American and British warships in the Red Sea in retaliation for the allied strikes.

A senior US military official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity denied that any retaliatory strikes had been conducted on US or allied forces.

"As of right now, we have not seen any retaliatory action directed towards US or other coalition members in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, or Gulf of Aden," the official said.

The overnight strikes were launched from air, surface and subsurface forces and "destroyed multiple targets in Houthi control," the official said. They targeted Houthi missile, radar and drone capabilities in response to the "unprecedented threat to global commerce" posed by the rebel group, a separate senior administration official said.

The military official declined to specify a percentage of the Houthis capabilities that had been destroyed due to "operational security" but said the damage was "significant."

"The aim of these strikes was very clear from the start, and from the president, and it was to remove the capability for the Houthis to target maritime vessels, whether they be commercial or military, in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, or Gulf of Aden," he said.

The Houthis have targeted vessels in the southern Red Sea and warned that they will attack all ships transiting to or from Israel, as well as ships that are owned by Israeli firms. They have said the attacks are meant to support Palestinians as they face Israel's "aggression and siege" in Gaza.

Last month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the creation of a multinational mission to counter the Houthi attacks.

Austin said the overnight US and coalition strikes send "a clear message to the Houthis that they will bear further costs if they do not end their illegal attacks."

The US and UK are carrying out the strikes with unspecified "support" from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, the Biden administration said.

Biden said the "defensive action" against the Houthis follows months of diplomacy and the "Houthi rebels’ escalating attacks against commercial vessels."

"These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes," he said.

"I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary," he added.

A joint statement released by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK and US said the "precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways."

"The Houthis’ more than two dozen attacks on commercial vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Today’s action demonstrated a shared commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending the lives of mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks," the countries said.