10:58,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. U.S. and British forces carried out a fresh round of strikes on Monday in Yemen, targeting a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities used by the group against Red Sea shipping, Reuters reports.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have said their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.
In the latest response, U.S. and British forces carried out strikes at eight different locations in Yemen, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, according to a joint statement signed by the six countries released by the Pentagon.
“Today, the militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, at the direction of their respective governments with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 8 Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the Houthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea. These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since our coalition strikes on January 11, including anti-ship ballistic missile and unmanned aerial system attacks that struck two U.S.-owned merchant vessels,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
A senior U.S. military official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said roughly 25 to 30 munitions were fired, including from warplanes launched from a U.S. aircraft carrier.
So far, eight rounds of strikes over the past month have failed to stop Houthi attacks against shipping.
U.S. officials say the strikes have degraded the Houthis' ability to carry out complex attacks. But they have declined to offer any specific figures as to the number of missiles, radar, drones or other military capabilities destroyed so far.
"We are having the intended effect," the U.S. military official told Pentagon reporters.
British Defence Minister Grant Shapps said in a statement that the latest strikes were carried out in self-defense.
U.S. President Joe Biden said last week that air strikes would continue even as he acknowledged they may not be halting the Houthi attacks.