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London:
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to protect British interests abroad after the Royal Air Force (RAF) carried out attacks against Houthi rebels.
UK and US forces have attacked Houthi targets in Yemen in the fifth combined operation since January.
The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed that attacks took place against the Houthis on Thursday as part of a response to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
In a statement released on Friday morning, Sunak said: “Last night, the RAF successfully conducted a fifth set of strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, alongside the US.”
“These attacks were conducted to further degrade the military capabilities of the Houthis and to prevent further attacks on international shipping.”
“The attacks were carried out in self-defense in the face of the ongoing threat posed by the Houthis.”
Asked whether this new round of attacks risks escalation with Iran, Sunak said: “We have always said we will not hesitate to protect British interests abroad and at home.”
“There is an ongoing threat that the Houthis pose, 197 attacks since November, all of our intelligence indicates that previous sets of attacks have been successful in degrading the military capabilities of the Houthis: targeting supply sites, command and control missile launches and there are also a risk of inaction that would harm the global economy and further endanger our international security.”
The MoD said intelligence confirmed two locations near Hudaydah as being involved in the anti-ship attacks, with buildings identified as housing drone ground control facilities and providing storage for long-range drones.
Surface-to-air weapons used to impede coalition operations to safeguard maritime transport in the region are also believed to be at the site.
A cluster of Houthi installations in Ghulayfiqah, further south on the Yemeni coast, have also been identified as being involved in command and control of the group’s anti-shipping campaign.
RAF Typhoon FGR4s conducted attacks on target buildings at all three locations, using Paveway IV guided bombs.
The Ministry of Defense said “utmost care” was taken in planning the attacks to “minimize any risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure”.
Two people were killed and ten others were injured in one of the attacks, according to the Houthis’ Al Masirah satellite news.
This is the fifth time the US and UK militaries have conducted a combined operation against the Houthis since January 12.
The Houthis, in recent months, have intensified attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians.
The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on ships, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.
The attacks disrupted shipping routes in the region.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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