FILE PHOTO: Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON — The United States and Britain have started carrying out strikes against targets linked to Houthis in Yemen, four US officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first time strikes have been launched against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been targeting Red Sea shipping routes to show their support for Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group. The attacks have disrupted international commerce on the key route between Europe and Asia, accounting for about 15 percent of the world’s shipping traffic.
These are believed to be the first strikes the United States has carried out against the Houthis in Yemen since 2016.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a formal statement was soon expected to detail the strikes.
Earlier on Thursday, the Houthi’s leader said any US attack on the group would not go without a response.
The Houthis, who seized much of Yemen in a civil war, have vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. However, many of the targeted ships have had no links to Israel.
READ: Houthis continue Red Sea attacks amid trade traffic surge
The US military said Thursday that Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, the 27th attack by the group since Nov. 19.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanded Yemen’s Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
READ: How are Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea affecting global trade?
The demand came in a UNSC resolution that also called on the Houthis to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli businessman that the group commandeered on November 19, and its 25-person crew.
Eleven members voted for the measure demanding the Houthis “immediately cease all attacks, which impede global commerce and navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace.”
Four members, including veto-wielding Russia and China, abstained. None voted against it.