US, Britain carry out strikes against Houthis in Yemen- officials
WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain have launched strikes against targets linked to the Houthi movement in Yemen, four U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first strikes against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year.
A Houthi official confirmed "raids" across the country, including in the capital Sanaa along with the cities of Saada and Dhamar as well as in Hodeidah governate, calling them "American-Zionist-British aggression."
The ongoing strikes are one of the most dramatic demonstrations to date of the widening of Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East since its eruption in October.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes were being carried out by aircraft, ships and submarine. Two officials said Australia, Canada, Bahrain and the Netherlands provided support for the operation.
The official said more than a dozen locations were targeted and the strikes were intended to be more than just symbolic.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, defied a U.N. call to halt their missile and drone attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and warnings from the United States of consequences if they failed to do so.
The Houthis say their attacks are a demonstration of support for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza. Israel has launched a military assault that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza after Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The Houthi have attacked 27 ships to date, disrupting international commerce on the key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15% of the world's shipping traffic.
Witnesses told Reuters that the raids on Thursday targeted a military base adjacent to Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in Hajjah Governorate.
A formal statement from the United States was soon expected to detail the strikes.
The Pentagon declined comment.
Earlier on Thursday, the Houthis' leader said any U.S. attack on the group would not go without a response.
The Houthis, who seized much of Yemen in a civil war, have vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. However, many of the targeted ships have had no links to Israel.
The U.S. military said on Thursday Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, the 27th attack by the group since Nov. 19.
U.S. and British naval forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by Yemen-based Houthis on Tuesday towards the southern Red Sea, the largest attack in the area by the militants.
In December, more than 20 countries agreed to participate in a U.S.-led coalition, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian, safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea.
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Andrew Mills and Maher Hatem Editing by Chris Reese, Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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