The United States and Britain launched strikes against more than a dozen Houthi-linked targets in Yemen on Thursday, just days after Iran-backed rebels carried out their “largest attack” yet on transport ships in the Red Sea, President Biden announced.
The retaliatory strikes mark the first time strikes have targeted Houthi militants since they began launching their attacks in the Red Sea last year and the first strikes the United States has deployed against the Houthis in Yemen since 2016.
“These attacks are a 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 released by the White House.
“These attacks have endangered American personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, endangered commerce, and threatened freedom of navigation.”
Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands offered support to the US-British attacks, Biden added.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the attacks were being carried out via planes, ships and submarines and were intended to be more than “just symbolic.”
A U.S. military plane takes off from an aircraft carrier to conduct airstrikes against Iranian-backed military targets in Yemen during a nighttime strike. via REUTERS Explosions caused by US and UK attacks are seen in Saada, Yemen. cnn
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US-British offensive aims to “disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Houthis to endanger sailors and threaten global trade in one of the most critical waterways.” of the world”.
“Today’s coalition action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will bear greater costs if they do not end their illegal attacks,” Austin said, noting that ongoing Houthi attacks have been backed by Iran.
Yemen’s capital Sana’a, along with the cities of Saada and Dhamar and Hodeidah governorate, were targeted by “raids,” a Houthi official confirmed in what he called an act of “American-Zionist-British aggression.”
The United States and Britain began launching attacks Thursday against Houthi-linked targets in Yemen. CNN A US plane stands ready on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier at an undisclosed location before taking off to join an operation against military targets in Yemen. Via REUTERS
Witnesses told Reuters that the attacks targeted a military base near Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in Hajjah governorate.
Tensions in the Red Sea have risen every week since the Islamist extremist group began attacking and hijacking cargo ships passing through the vital Red Sea, a critical shipping corridor, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. The Houthis claim their attacks are a show of support for Hamas and have attacked 27 ships to date.
The Houthis claim their attacks are a show of support for Hamas and have targeted 27 ships to date, but more often than not their targets have little or no connection to Israel and instead endanger a crucial route through which accounts for around 12% of world trade.
Last year, a Houthi helicopter descended on a ship in the Red Sea. via REUTERS The UK Ministry of Defense shared photographs from the bridge of HMS Diamond, as Sea Viper missiles are fired in the Red Sea at military targets in Yemen. AP
Their activities have paralyzed trade in the region and led some of the world’s largest shipping companies to cease operations in the Red Sea.
Despite repeated warnings from the United States and its allies that the Houthis would face “consequences” if they did not cease their attacks, the Houthis have repeatedly defied Western threats and continued their attacks.
“These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to endanger freedom of navigation,” Biden said Thursday.
The Houthis are a Yemeni Islamist extremist group backed, like many similar extremists in the Middle East, by Iran. fake images
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, launched their largest and most complex attack yet on Tuesday, firing 18 drones and three missiles from sites in Yemen.
U.S. and British forces safely brought down the weapons, prompting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to promise more “consequences” but did not elaborate on when or what they might include.
Behind the scenes, Biden was convening his national security officials and “was presented with military options for a collective response,” a senior administration official said in a call with reporters Thursday.
The president then ordered the Pentagon to launch the strikes that resulted in the American-British bombing. The two countries hope the retaliatory attack will weaken Houthi fighting forces.
“This was a significant action and was carried out with every objective and every expectation that it will significantly degrade the ability of the Houthis to launch the type of attacks that they have carried out over the past few weeks,” he said. a senior administration official. .
The targets were also “selected very specifically to minimize the risks of collateral damage,” a military official added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the media before boarding his plane to return to Washington, following his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in Cairo on January 11. AP A Houthi militant aboard the Galaxy Leader, a transport ship the group hijacked in the Red Sea in November. Via REUTERS
The Houthis had been preparing for the possibility of a US attack, the Wall Street Journal reported, storing their weapons in safe locations in populated areas, a tactic used by Hamas, similarly funded by Iran, to deter attacks.
Houthi leaders have vowed to fight back stronger than ever if the US-led coalition attacks them.
“Retaliation to any US attack will not only be at the level of the current operation, which included more than 24 drones and multiple missiles, but will be greater,” said Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
A missile is launched from a warship from an undisclosed location during the nighttime military operation. Via REUTERS
Another high-ranking Hothi official, Ali al-Qahoum, promised that “the battle will be bigger…and beyond the imagination and expectations of the Americans and the British” in X.
A U.S. military official said there has been “no direct retaliatory action” toward the United States or other coalition members since the joint strikes.
But “we wouldn’t be surprised to see some kind of response,” a senior administration official told reporters.
With mail cables.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn