Washington has announced successes in its military campaign against Yemen. As part of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign against Houthi militants, the US military has struck more than a thousand targets, according to the Pentagon.
Over 1,000 targets hit in Yemen
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell reported the figure in an email on Tuesday, highlighting the Pentagon’s achievements in Trump’s first 100 days in office. According to Parnell, the strikes have killed Houthi fighters and leaders, including senior figures responsible for missile weapons and drones, while weakening their capabilities.
The Trump administration has largely refrained from commenting on the campaign against the Houthis, limiting itself to statements about its greater intensity compared to the strikes carried out by the Biden administration against this Iranian-backed group. The Houthis began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which also made the US a target.
Earlier, the US had imposed sanctions on three ships linked to the Houthis. In addition, Al Masirah TV reported that 68 people were killed in a US strike on a migrant centre in Yemen.
UK jets conduct air strikes on Houthi facilities
The British military, together with the US, carried out air strikes on Yemeni Houthi rebels, officials said on Wednesday, marking the UK’s first involvement in a new intense American campaign against the Iran-backed group.
In an attempt to maintain a semblance of propriety, Britain explained in detail the reasons for launching the aggression, unlike the US, which has provided few details about the more than 800 strikes it has carried out since the start of its campaign on March 15.
“This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation,” said John Healey, the UK’s defence secretary. “A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK.”
The Houthis reported several strikes in the vicinity of the Yemeni capital Sana’a, which the group has been carrying out since 2014. Other strikes were carried out in the Saada area.
The campaign, called Operation Rough Rider, was directed against Yemeni rebels, while the Trump administration is negotiating with their main patron, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly developing nuclear programme.
The British Ministry of Defence described the target as “a cluster of buildings used by the Houthis to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, located approximately 15 miles south of Sana’a.”
Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 aircraft took part in the actions against a foreign country, dropping Paveway IV guided bombs, the ministry added. “The strike was carried out after dark, when the likelihood of civilians being in the area was further reduced,” the British ministry said in a statement.
The British side did not provide any information about the damage caused by the strike or whether it believed anyone had been killed. The US Central Command did not confirm the strike.
The British have been participating in air strikes alongside the US since the Joe Biden administration began its campaign of strikes against the Houthis in January 2024. However, this new strike is the first in which the British have participated in Trump’s campaign.
