UK, US launch series of strikes on facilities of Yemen’s Houthis

DUBAI, March 14. /TASS/. The armed forces of the UK and the US carried out four strikes on facilities of the Houthi rebels from Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, the Al Masirah TV channel reported.
According to it, the attack targeted the outskirts of the city of Bayt al-Faqih in the Hodeidah province. The channel did not provide any information about the consequences of the strike.
On March 12, the TV channel reported that the coalition forces carried out at least 22 airstrikes on Houthi facilities in the areas of Hodeidah and Saada provinces. In turn, a representative of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which has opposed the Houthis since the beginning of the civil war in 2014, told Reuters that the attack killed 11 people and injured 14 others.
With the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalating, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement announced that it would conduct strikes on Israeli territory and block pro-Israeli vessels from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceases its military operation in the Palestinian enclave. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November of last year.
In response to Ansar Allah’s actions, US officials announced the formation of an international coalition and the preparation of Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. On the night of January 12, US and UK forces launched strikes using aircraft, ships and submarines against Yemeni rebel movement targets in a number of cities, including Sanaa and Hodeidah. The targets included missile sites, UAVs and the Houthis’ radar stations.