Highlights: US, UK strike dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen. “These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent sailors,” a joint statement said. Earlier on Saturday, the United States had already announced that it had carried out strikes in Yemen, targeting six Houthi anti-ship missiles “ ready to be launched against ships in the Red Sea” On Friday, the US military also destroyed eight drones off the coast of Yemen and four on the ground.

The United States and the United Kingdom announced that they had bombed dozens of targets in Yemen this Saturday, February 3, in response to repeated attacks carried out by the Houthi rebels supported by Iran against…

US, UK strike dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen

The United States and the United Kingdom announced that they had bombed dozens of targets in Yemen this Saturday, February 3, in response to repeated attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels against ships.

A combat aircraft on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight Eisenhower, January 22, 2024 in the Black Sea, during a previous operation. © KAITLIN WATT / AFP

By: RFI Follow

Saturday’s strikes targeted “

36 Houthi targets in 13 locations in

Yemen
in response to continued Houthi attacks on international and commercial maritime traffic and warships transiting the Red Sea

,” said a joint statement from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries having supported the operation. “

These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent sailors

,” the statement said. The attack targeted “

deeply buried arsenals, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems and radars of the Houthis

,” the document added.

Earlier on Saturday, the United States had already announced that it had carried out strikes in Yemen, targeting six Houthi anti-ship missiles “

ready to be launched against ships in the Red Sea

”. On Friday, the US military also destroyed eight drones off the coast of Yemen and four on the ground in order to “

protect freedom of navigation

» Houthi attacks.

A conflict in Gaza that is spreading across the region

The Houthis began targeting maritime traffic in the Red Sea in November, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel "

in solidarity

" with Palestinians in Gaza, ravaged by the war between Israel and Hamas. US and British forces responded with raids against the Houthis, who have since also designated US and British interests as legitimate targets. In addition to strikes against the Houthis, the United States has created a multinational naval force intended to protect maritime traffic in the region, which accounts for some 12% of global traffic.

Anger over Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza, which began after an unprecedented deadly Hamas attack on October 7, continues to swell in the Middle East, sending violence soaring in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and in Yemen. Last weekend, a drone struck a base in Jordan, killing three American soldiers and injuring more than 40. The attack was attributed by Washington to pro-Iran groups. The United States responded Friday with

retaliatory strikes

against elite Iranian forces and pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq and Syria, but did not strike Iranian territory.

US, UK strike dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen

US, UK strike dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen

A conflict in Gaza that is spreading across the region

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