Yemen’s Houthis say US, British airstrikes targeted Al Hudaydah airport

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - Yemen’s Houthi group announced Wednesday that the US and UK conducted two airstrikes on Al Hudaydah International Airport in western Yemen.

“Two raids by American and British aggression aircraft targeted Al Hudaydah​​​​​​​ International Airport,” the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television channel said on Telegram.

The channel did not provide further details on the raids or whether they resulted in casualties or material damage, while there have been no announcements by the US or UK.

The strikes came hours after two sailors were killed and several others went missing due to the targeting by the Houthis of the Barbados-flagged True Confidence cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Before the outbreak of war between the Yemeni government and the Houthis nine years ago, Al Hudaydah International Airport provided services for domestic and international flights but is currently inactive.

Al Hudaydah is one of the most important Yemeni provinces as it houses three vital ports in addition to having a long coastal strip.

The Houthis have been targeting ships which are Israeli-owned, flagged or operated, or which are heading to Israeli ports in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones in solidarity with Gaza, which is facing a devastating Israeli offensive with US support, affirming their determination to continue their operations until the end of the war.

Since the beginning of this year, a US-led coalition has been launching airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to its attacks on ships, which has been occasionally met with retaliation from the group.

With Washington and London's intervention and the adoption of increasingly escalatory tensions in January, the Houthis announced that they consider all American and British ships military targets.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala