US Reports Additional Attacks by Yemen's Houthi Rebels Within a Day (Summary)

by Moon Hyewon

Published 13 Jan.2024 12:09(KST)

On the early morning of the 13th (local time), the US military carried out an additional strike on another Houthi rebel facility in Yemen, according to two US officials cited by the Associated Press.

A Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jet took off from the Akrotiri Air Base in Cyprus on the 12th (local time) to attack the base of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Photo by the UK Ministry of Defence. Photo by Yonhap News.

One official stated that the US launched the additional attack because a radar facility still posed a threat to maritime traffic in the Red Sea.

The additional strike came just one day after the US, together with the UK, conducted large-scale bombings on Houthi strongholds in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, and other locations.

According to Bloomberg News, the additional strike was reportedly a US-only operation.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked civilian vessels passing through the Red Sea, a major international trade route, under the pretext of supporting Palestine following the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

The US and UK described their actions as a direct response to threats against global trade routes, deploying fighter jets, ships, and submarines to carry out large-scale bombings on dozens of Houthi facilities the previous day.

After the bombings, US President Joe Biden stated that if the Houthi rebels continue attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, "there will definitely be additional responses."

The Houthi Supreme Political Council warned of all-out retaliation in a statement released through official media the previous day, saying, "All interests of the US and UK, who have declared direct aggression against the Republic of Yemen (the rebel government), have become direct and legitimate targets of the Yemeni army."

In fact, after the US and UK airstrikes, the Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship ballistic missile at a vessel in the Gulf of Aden in southern Yemen.

With the US and UK launching sudden airstrikes against the Houthi rebels and the Houthis threatening retaliation, the repercussions of the Gaza Strip war are spreading throughout the Middle East.