An American fighter launches strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen (French)

The US Army announced that it launched, yesterday, Monday, a strike against two booby-trapped drone boats belonging to the Ansar Allah Houthi group in Yemen. This came after new raids carried out by American and British aircraft targeting the group’s sites in Yemen.

The US military command in the Middle East (Centcom) said in a post on the X platform that “its forces launched a self-defense strike against two drone boats loaded with explosives.”

It added that it had spotted the two boats in "areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis" and decided to destroy them after concluding that they represented "an imminent threat to US Navy ships and commercial ships in the region."

This is the latest episode in a series of attacks launched by the United States and Britain against Houthi targets in Yemen since last January 12, in response to the Houthis targeting ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, in support of the Palestinians who have been facing Israeli aggression since last October.

Following the American and British attacks, the Houthis announced that American and British interests had also become legitimate targets for them.

Reuters quoted the Embry Maritime Security Company as saying that a British cargo ship was slightly damaged today, Tuesday, as a result of an attack on a course 57 nautical miles west of Yemen’s Hodeidah. It confirmed that the ship suffered minor damage, and no injuries were reported.

On the other hand, media outlets affiliated with the Ansar Allah group said that 3 American-British raids targeted areas east of Saada at night, hours after targeting the Dune area in the city of Hodeidah with several successive raids that resulted in hearing explosions.

Biden's statements

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said that the Ansar Allah group still poses a threat to launch future attacks on American forces and ships, and on maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

Biden added - in a letter to Congress - that the recent strikes against Houthi targets "were carried out in accordance with international law, and within the exercise of the inherent right of the United States to self-defense, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations."

He pointed out that the strikes were carried out with the aim of "weakening the group's ability to launch future attacks and in a manner aimed at reducing the risks of escalation and avoiding civilian casualties."

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies