In a huge retaliation assault involving fighter planes and Tomahawk missiles launched from warships and submarines, the US and British forces targeted over a dozen locations in Yemen that are utilised by the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, on Thursday, according to US authorities. According to them, the military objectives included places for storing and launching weapons, air defence systems, and logistics centres.
The purpose of the strikes, according to President Joe Biden, was to show that the US and its allies “will not tolerate” the terrorist group’s ongoing attacks on the Red Sea. He said that only after trying to reach a diplomatic agreement and giving it considerable thought did they decide to act.
“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,” Biden said in a statement. He noted the attacks endangered US personnel, civilian mariners and jeopardized trade, and he added, “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
Associated Press journalists in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, heard four explosions early Friday local time. Amin Ali Saleh and Hani Ahmed, two Hodieda residents, claimed they heard five powerful explosions impact the city’s western port sector, which is located on the Red Sea and is the Houthis’ major port city. Residents of Taiz, a southern city near the Red Sea, reported hearing explosions as well.
The strikes were the first US military reaction to a campaign of drone and missile assaults on commercial ships that has been ongoing since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict. And the concerted military assault comes just a week after the White House and a number of partner countries issued a last warning to the Houthis to stop attacking or face military action. Under the condition of anonymity, the officials discussed military activities when describing the strikes. Congressmen were informed on the strike preparations earlier on Thursday.
Attacks ceased for many days, suggesting that the warning had at least some temporary effect. However, US and British ships, as well as American fighter planes, responded to the Houthi rebels’ Tuesday largest-ever onslaught of drones and missiles aimed at commerce in the Red Sea by shooting down 18 drones, two cruise missiles, and one anti-ship missile. Additionally, a commercial ship saw the Houthis launch an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, but the ship was not struck.
In a call with reporters, senior administration and military officials said that after the Tuesday attacks, Biden convened his national security team and was presented with military options for a response. He then directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to carry out the retaliatory strikes.
In a separate statement, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Royal Air Force carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by the Houthis. The Defense Ministry said four fighter jets based in Cyprus took part in the strikes.
Noting the militants have carried out a series of dangerous attacks on shipping, he added, “This cannot stand. He said the U.K. took “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.”
And the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea joined the US and U.K. in issuing a statement saying that while the aim is to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, the allies won’t hesitate to defend lives and protect commerce in the critical waterway.
The rebels, who have carried out 27 attacks involving dozens of drones and missiles just since Nov. 19, had warned that any attack by American forces on its sites in Yemen will spark a fierce military response.
A high-ranking Houthi official, Ali al-Qahoum, vowed there would be retaliation. “The battle will be bigger…. and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British,” he said in a post on X.
Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, described strikes hitting the Al-Dailami Air Base north of Sanaa, the airport in the port city of the Hodeida, a camp east of Saada, the airport in the city of Taiz and an airport near Hajjah. And eyewitnesses who spoke with The Associated Press said they saw strikes in four areas, including Dhamar, Hodeida, Sanaa and Taiz.
The Houthis did not immediately offer any damage or casualty information.
A senior administration official said that while the US expects the strikes will degrade the Houthi’s capabilities, “we would not be surprised to see some sort of response,” although they haven’t seen anything yet.
The Houthis say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and imperil a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Wednesday that demanded the Houthis immediately cease the attacks and implicitly condemned their weapons supplier, Iran. It was approved by a vote of 11-0 with four abstentions — by Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique.
Britain’s participation in the strikes underscored the Biden administration’s effort to use a broad international coalition to battle the Houthis, rather than appear to be going it alone. More than 20 nations are already participating in a US-led maritime mission to increase ship protection in the Red Sea.
US officials for weeks had declined to signal when international patience would run out and they would strike back at the Houthis, even as multiple commercial vessels were struck by missiles and drones, prompting companies to look at rerouting their ships.
On Wednesday, however, US officials again warned of consequences.
“I’m not going to telegraph or preview anything that might happen,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a stop in Bahrain. He said the US has made clear “that if this continues as it did yesterday, there will be consequences. And I’m going to leave it at that.”
The Biden administration’s reluctance over the past several months to retaliate reflected political sensitivities and stemmed largely from broader worries about upending the shaky truce in Yemen and triggering a wider conflict in the region. The White House wants to preserve the truce and has been wary of taking action in Yemen that could open up another war front.
The impact on international shipping and the escalating attacks, however, triggered the coalition warning, which was signed by the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Separately, the US called on the United Nations Security Council to take action against the Houthis and warned their financier Iran that it has a choice to make about continuing to provide support to the rebels.
Transit through the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is a crucial shipping lane for global commerce. About 12% of the world’s trade typically passes through the waterway that separates Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, including oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys to electronics.
In response to the attacks, the US created a new maritime security mission, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, to increase security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, with about 22 countries are participating. US warships, and those from other nations, have been routinely sailing back and forth through the narrow strait to provide protection for ships and to deter attacks. The coalition has also ramped up airborne surveillance.
The decision to set up the expanded patrol operation came after three commercial vessels were struck by missiles fired by Houthis in Yemen on Dec. 3.
The Pentagon increased its military presence in the region after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel to deter Iran from widening the war into a regional conflict, including by the Houthis and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
Via Firstpost World Latest News https://ift.tt/7gS2z4B
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