Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they would step up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea after another night of US and UK military strikes targeting the Iran-backed militia.
American and British fighters, with support from several allies, struck about 18 sites across eight locations on Saturday, targeting Houthi missile launchers and other weapons, according to a joint statement. It was the latest wave of strikes to have been led by the US to deter the Houthis from attacking shipping, with little success.
In a statement early on Sunday, a Houthi military spokesman said his group had targeted yet another American ship, the oil tanker MV Torm Thor, with missiles. “The Houthis confirm that they will confront the American-British escalation with more qualitative military operations,” Yahya Saree said in a statement.
Iran, which sponsors the Shia rebel group in Yemen, also condemned the latest US-UK response.
Dozens of airstrikes that have involved the Royal Air Force and navy have had little impact in stopping the attacks, which have paralysed shipping in the Red Sea since November. The Houthis, who control parts of Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, say they are carrying out their attacks in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas are at war.
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The US and Britain conducted their first operations against the Houthis in January, prompting the group to widen its attacks — which it initially said were on ships linked to Israel — to include US and British vessels.
American officials have acknowledged that the military response is unlikely to stop the attacks. But a ceasefire in Gaza could strip the Houthis of a pretext to continue their campaign, which has elevated them in a region overwhelmingly hostile to the Israel-Hamas war.
A joint statement issued by the US Department of Defence on Saturday’s strikes said they were “intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, naval vessels and the lives of innocent mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways.
The statement added: “Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea but we will once again reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in the face of continued threats.”
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said: “It is our duty to protect lives at sea and preserve freedom of navigation. That is why the Royal Air Force engaged in a fourth wave of precision strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. We acted alongside our allies to further degrade Houthi drones and launchers used in their dangerous attacks. I thank the brave British personnel involved for their service.”
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The latest round of strikes comes days after the US military warned of an “environmental disaster” after an attack by Houthi rebels on a British-owned cargo ship caused an oil slick in the Red Sea.
In what is believed to be the most damaging attack yet, the militant group hit the Rubymar, a Belize-flagged bulk carrier, on February 18 with multiple missiles.
The ship was sailing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, on its way to Bulgaria after leaving Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates.
Extensive damage prompted the crew, all of whom are safe, to abandon the ship.
US Central Command confirmed on Saturday that the ship was now “anchored but slowly taking on water”, which it said has caused an 18-mile (29-kilometre) oil slick.
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The vessel was transporting more than 41,000 tonnes of fertiliser, the military said, “which could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this environmental disaster”.
US and British warships have been deployed as part of an international task force to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping in the critical waterway, which accounts for about 12 per cent of global seaborne trade.
The Houthis have launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace has picked up in recent days.
“We’ve certainly seen in the past 48, 72 hours an increase in attacks from the Houthis,” the Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a briefing on Thursday. And she acknowledged that the Houthis had not been deterred.
“We never said we’ve wiped off the map all of their capabilities,” she said. “We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal. They are very capable. They have sophisticated weapons, and that’s because they continue to get them from Iran.”
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At least 32 US strikes in Yemen have occurred in the past month and a half; a few were conducted with allied involvement. In addition, US warships have taken out dozens of incoming missiles, rockets and drones targeting commercial and other navy vessels.
Earlier on Saturday, the destroyer USS Mason downed an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-held areas in Yemen towards the Gulf of Aden, US Central Command said, adding that the missile was probably targeting MV Torm Thor, a US-flagged, owned and operated chemical and oil tanker.
The US attacks on the Houthis have targeted more than 120 launchers, more than ten surface-to-air-missiles, 40 storage and support buildings, 15 drone storage buildings, more than 20 unmanned air, surface and underwater vehicles, several underground storage areas and a few other facilities.
