Yemeni Houthis vow to retaliate against US-UK strikes

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) — Yemen's Houthis vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against several overnight strikes conducted by the US and UK against the group.

In a statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said US and UK warplanes carried out 18 strikes late on Monday, including 12 in the capital Sanaa, three in the western province of Hodeidah, two in southern Taiz province, and one in the central Al-Bayda province.

"These assaults won't go unpunished," Saree said, without mentioning whether the attacks had caused any human casualties.

US and British forces said they conducted the strikes Monday against eight Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks in the Red Sea, according to an earlier joint statement.

"The militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, at the direction of their respective governments with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 8 Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the Houthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea," the statement said.

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks on commercial ships suspected of having links with Israel.

The Houthis say their attacks aim to pressure Israel to halt its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 25,500 people since an Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar