US forces “launched strikes today against 15 Houthi targets in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis,” a rebel movement backed by Iran, Centcom highlighted via social network X.
Shia Houthi rebels had earlier announced a dozen airstrikes by the United States (US) and the United Kingdom in various parts of the Yemeni capital Sana’a and Hodeidah province.
According to the Al-Masriya Network, which is affiliated with the Yemeni rebel movement, “seven attacks” hit Hodeidah airport and surrounding areas, and four attacks targeted Yemen’s capital, which has been under the control of the Houthis since late 2014, initially targeting civil society in the country.
A final “bomb attack” took place in the city of Tamar in the country’s southwest, according to local media, without specifying whether there were deaths or injuries in each incident.
Iran-aligned rebels in war-torn Yemen have been waging attacks along the country’s coast since November.
In the context of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip that began in October 2023, they argued for targeting ships serving Israeli ports in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, vital areas for global trade, have driven up insurance costs and forced many companies to travel the long route around the southern tip of Africa.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, created a multinational force in December to protect shipping in the strategic zone and launched its first offensive in Yemen in January with the help of the United Kingdom.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are part of the so-called “opposition axis,” an Iranian-led coalition against Israel that also includes the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
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