2024-01-12 03:27:58
The American and British armies bombed this Thursday more than a dozen sites used by the Houthis backed by Iran in Yemen, in a massive retaliatory attack using Tomahawk missiles launched from warships and fighter jets.
The military targets included logistics centers, air defense systems and weapons storage and launch sites, officials told the AP.
AP journalists in Yemen’s capital Sanaa heard four explosions but saw no signs of fighter jets. Two residents of Hodieda, Amin Ali Saleh and Hani Ahmed, said they heard five loud explosions hit the western port area of the city, which lies on the Red Sea and is the largest port area controlled by the Houthis.
Residents of Taiz, a southwestern city near the Red Sea, also heard explosions.
Militias. Children carrying weapons participate in a rally in support of the Houthi rebels, in Sanaa (EFE)
The attacks marked the first US military response to what has been a persistent campaign of drone and missile attacks against commercial ships since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
And the coordinated military strike comes just a week after the White House and a host of partner countries issued a final warning to the Houthis. to stop the attacks or face possible military action.
The warning appeared to have had at least some short-lived impact, as the attacks ceased for several days. On Tuesday, however, the Houthi rebels fired their largest barrage of drones and missiles at commercial ships in the Red Sea, and American and British ships and fighter jets responded by shooting down 18 drones, two cruise missiles and an anti-ship missile.
Yesterday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden, which was spotted by a commercial ship but missed the ship.
Trade. Yemenis walk through a market in the old part of Sanaa in Yemen, controlled by the Houthis (EFE).
The rebels, who have carried out 27 attacks with dozens of drones and missiles since November 19, They said Thursday that any attack by U.S. forces on their sites in Yemen would provoke a fierce military response.
“The response to any American attack will not only be at the level of the operation that was carried out recently with more than 24 drones and several missiles,” Abdel Malek al-Houthi, the group’s supreme leader, said during an hour-long speech duration. . “It will be bigger than that.”
Houthis say their attacks aim to stop Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and endanger a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Wednesday passed a resolution calling on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks and implicitly condemning their arms supplier, Iran.
Attacks. Members of the Yemeni government forces patrol as columns of smoke rise from an alleged Houthi position (EFE)
Britain’s involvement in the attacks underscored the Biden administration’s effort to use a broad international coalition to fight the Houthis, rather than appearing to go it alone. More than 20 countries are already participating in a US-led maritime mission to increase ship protection in the Red Sea.
For weeks, U.S. officials had refused to signal when international patience would run out and they would strike back at the Houthis, even as multiple commercial vessels came under attack by missiles and drones, prompting companies to consider diverting their ships.
However, on Wednesday US officials again warned of the consequences.
““I am not going to telegraph or anticipate anything that may happen.”Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a stop in Bahrain. He said the United States has made it clear “that if this continues like yesterday, there will be consequences. And I’m going to leave it at that.”
The Biden administration’s reluctance in recent months to retaliate reflected political sensitivities and was largely due to broader concerns about disrupt the fragile truce in Yemen and trigger a broader conflict in the region.
Destruction. A devastated area in Yemen after a military attack against the Houthis (AP).
The White House wants to preserve the truce and has been cautious about taking steps in Yemen that could open another front of war.
However, the impact on international shipping and the escalation of attacks triggered the coalition warning, signed by the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom.
On the other hand, the United States asked the United Nations Security Council to take action against the Houthis and warned its financier, Iran, that it has to make a decision about continuing to provide support to the rebels.
The transit through the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, It is a crucial sea route for global trade.
About 12% of global trade typically passes through the waterway separating Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, including oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys to electronics.
In response to the attacks, the United States created a new maritime security mission, called Operation Prosperity Guardian, to increase security in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. in which some 22 countries participate.
American warships, and those of other nations, have been routinely sailing back and forth through the strait to provide protection for ships and deter attacks. The coalition has also stepped up aerial surveillance.
The decision to establish an expanded patrol operation came after three commercial vessels were hit by missiles fired by the Houthis in Yemen on December 3.
The Pentagon increased its military presence in the region after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel to deter Iran from expanding the war into a regional conflict, including by the Houthis and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria. .
Fuente; The Associated Press
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