Britain has joined the United States overnight in air strikes against Houthi “military facilities” in Yemen.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement:
“We have…taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets…to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping.”
RAF Typhoon jets have been seen taking off from a UK airbase in Cyprus
The strikes were from fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles.
More than a dozen Houthi targets were hit by missiles fired from air, surface, and sub platforms and were chosen for their ability to degrade the Houthis’ continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, CNN has reported.
Iranian-backed Houthi militants have attempted to attack and harass 27 ships in international shipping lanes. These illegal incidents include attacks that have employed anti-ship ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden
We hold the Houthi militants and their destabilizing Iranian sponsors responsible for the illegal, indiscriminate, and reckless attacks on international shipping that have impacted 55 nations so far, including endangering the lives of hundreds of mariners, including the United States,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander.
“Their illegal and dangerous actions will not be tolerated, and they will be held accountable.”
A Houthi spokesman has warned that the coordinated attack, which targeted 16 sites with 60 strikes, ‘will not go unanswered and unpunished’.
