Following weeks of disruptions caused by attacks on Red Sea commerce by Iran-backed Huthi militants, heavy airstrikes by the US and Britain hammered targets in rebel-held Yemen early on Friday.
The Huthi rebels’ Al-Masirah TV station reported that the strikes targeted an airbase, airports, and a military camp. AFP correspondents and witnesses also reported hearing bombardments.
“Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines and warplanes,” Huthi deputy foreign minister Hussein Al-Ezzi said, according to official rebel media.
“America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” he added.
Unverified images on social media, some of them purportedly of Al-Dailami airbase north of Sanaa, showed explosions lighting up the sky as loud bangs and the roar of planes sounded.
US president Joe Biden called the US and British strikes a “defensive action” after the Red Sea attacks, and said he “will not hesitate” to order further military action if needed.
The strikes involved fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles, several US media outlets said. US officials did not immediately confirm the reports when contacted by AFP.
“Today, at my direction, US military forces together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” Biden said in a statement, using an alternate spelling of Huthi.
He called the strikes a “direct response” to “unprecedented” attacks by the Huthis, “including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history”.
“These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” he said. “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
