US forces struck 15 targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Friday, the US military said.
Iran-backed rebels’ Al-Masirah television network reported that four provinces were attacked.
The United States and Britain have launched repeated strikes aimed at curbing the Houthis’ ability to target shipping, but rebel attacks on merchant vessels transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have continued.
“US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces today struck 15 Houthi positions in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” the military command responsible for US forces in the Middle East said on social media.
“These targets included Houthi offensive military capabilities,” Centcom said. He said the attacks were carried out “to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels.”
Al Masirah – which said both the United States and Britain attacked Yemen on Friday – had previously reported four attacks on Sanaa and seven on Hodeida. AFP correspondents heard loud explosions in both cities.
At least one attack each occurred in Dhamar, south of the capital, and Muqairas, southeast of Sanaa, al-Masirah said.
The Houthis have been attacking shipping since November, saying the attacks, which have disrupted maritime traffic in the globally vital waterway, target ships linked to Israel and a sign of solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war. Intend to give.
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Israel has also attacked Yemen in response to Houthi attacks. At least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on Hodeida last month after rebels said they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport with a missile.
The US strikes came a day after the rebels said they had launched a drone strike on Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said it had intercepted “a suspicious air target” overnight near central Israel, without giving further details.
On Wednesday, the Houthis said they fired cruise missiles at Israel following Iran’s heavy bombardment of the country.
A day earlier, the Houthis damaged two ships in separate attacks off the coast of Yemen.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said one ship was hit by a maritime drone, causing a hole in a ballast tank, while another ship was damaged by a missile less than three hours later.
The Houthis, who have controlled large parts of war-torn Yemen for a decade, are part of an “axis of resistance” of Iran-linked groups against Israel and the United States.
The latest attacks came as thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Sanaa to express solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanese amid Israeli attacks.
“The aggression on the capital and Yemeni governorates following a solidarity march with Lebanon and Gaza is a desperate attempt to terrorize our people,” Houthi official Hashem Sharaf al-Din told Al Masirah.
“Yemen will not be afraid of these attacks and will continue its determination to confront the enemies with all its might,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
