Aerial footage shows moment RAF Typhoon strikes Yemen military target
The US has carried out a second round of airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, a day after American and British forces mounted their first attacks.
Earlier on Friday, a fresh missile attack on a Red Sea ship was reported after Houthi rebels warned that British interests were “legitimate targets” following the RAF and the US unleashing airstrikes.
The overnight bombardment by US and UK warplanes, ships and submarines was launched in response to weeks of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea.
The Houthis vowed fierce retaliation. Military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the strikes would “not go unanswered or unpunished”.
And on Friday evening, the UK Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Middle East waters, reported a new missile attack off Yemen.
It said the missile was fired towards a ship 90 miles southeast of Aden, Yemen, but the ship reported no injuries or damage.
A British maritime security firm said the militants had mistakenly targeted a tanker carrying Russian oil.
US military strike another Houthi-controlled site after risk to Red Sea ships
The US military early today struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that they determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk.
That is according to two US officials who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press to discuss an operation that had not yet been publicly announced.
A drone view as Houthi movement supporters rally to denounce air strikes launched by the US and Britain on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen, 12 January 2024
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A drone view as Houthi movement supporters rally to denounce air strikes launched by the US and Britain on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen, 12 January 2024
Yesterday, the first day of strikes hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets.
However, the US determined the additional location, a radar site, still presented a threat to maritime traffic, one official said.
Houthis won’t back down quietly
The fear is that the strikes will do little to minimise the capabilities of the Houthis, who have successfully fought for decades against the Yemeni government, writes Bel Trew:
US launches more strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen
Second wave of strikes carried out by US unilaterally say officials.
Europe split over US-UK strikes
Italy, Spain and France stood out by not taking part in US and British strikes against the Houthi group in Yemen and not even signing up to a statement put out by 10 countries justifying the attack.
The divergence highlighted divisions in the West over how to deal with the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been targeting civilian ships in the Red Sea for weeks in what they say is a protest against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided logistical and intelligence support for the operation, US officials have said.
Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and South Korea signed a joint statement with these six nations defending the overnight attacks and warning of further action to protect the free flow of Red Sea trade if the Houthis did not back down.
A source in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said Italy had declined to sign the statement, and as a result was not asked to participate in the attack.
Watch: David Cameron appears to not rule out further action
David Cameron appears to not rule out further action after UK strikes in Yemen
David Cameron appeared to not rule out further action against Houthi rebels in Yemen after UK and US forces bombed military facilities on Thursday night (10 January). Speaking on Friday, the foreign secretary told NBC News: “We will do what is necessary to protect our ships… What we were doing – warnings – was not working.” Strikes on Thursday night were the first to be launched against the militants since they began attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The Ministry of Defence said four Royal Air Force jets struck two Houthi facilities involved in their targeting of HMS Diamond and US Navy vessels on Tuesday.
Pentagon gives details of US military strikes
US military officials on Friday said that strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen had come from an aircraft carrier, two destroyers, a cruiser and a submarine.
In total, the strikes targeted 30 Houthi-controlled locations in Yemen, with more than 150 bombs and missiles, according to The New York Times.
Fighter jets launched raids from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, with other attacks coming from the USS Gravely, the USS Mason and the USS Philippine Sea, according to Lt Gen Douglas Sims of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.
An Ohio class submarine also took part in the strikes, according to Lt Gen Sims.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower
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The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower
Mission creep, disputes and Gaza: what next after airstrikes?
The spectre of recent Western wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, is still very much present – and the question is just how much appetite there will be for prolonged military engagement by the US and UK. Kim Sengupta considers the prospects for global war or peace:
Will the clash with the Houthi rebels lead to global conflict?
Would the US and the UK be prepared to put boots on the ground in Yemen (as Boris Johnson proposed)? Will a prolonged air campaign be enough to paralyse the Iraq-backed Houthis? There are many difficult questions left to answer over the Middle East’s latest hotspot, warns Kim Sengupta
Anglo-Saxons perverting UN resolutions, claims Russia
Russia has condemned the allies’ strikes as “illegitimate from the point of view of international law”.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “The US airstrikes on Yemen are another example of the Anglo-Saxons’ perversion of UN Security Council resolutions.”
Ms Zakharova said the strikes showed a “complete disregard for international law” and were “escalating the situation in the region”.
Russia also called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to discuss the issue.
Editorial: Military intervention in Yemen is justifiable – for now
There should be no question about the sound legal basis for what the US and UK did, with minimal casualties. But this latest conflict cannot be allowed to develop a momentum of its own:
Military intervention in Yemen is justifiable – for now
The West’s action against the Houthi rebels may help put paid to the Iran-backed militia’s proxy war. But wider peace in the Middle East cannot be reached through the narrow straits at the mouth of Red Sea but, rather, by a rapid de-escalation of the conflict in Gaza
War with Iran not inevitable, says UK ex-security adviser
Peter Ricketts, former government national security adviser, has said he does not think the UK and US strikes will escalate into a regional war with Iran.
Lord Ricketts told the BBC that the allies had calculated that action could be limited to dealing with the Houthis.
He added: “I don’t believe that Iran is looking to get involved in this. I think it suits Iran fine to have their proxies doing this to show that they are leading in the anti-Israel, anti-West stakes as far as the Muslim world is concerned.”
But Lord Ricketts warned that greatest risk of spillover is “extremist pro-Iranian groups in Iraq and in Syria who may well launch attacks on US bases there”.
