The Iran-backed Houthis have vowed “unimaginable” revenge in the wake of the US and UK’s overnight blitz on their military bases in Yemen.
The furious rebel group called the coalition strikes that hit 60 military targets and killed five of their militants an act of “war” as a full-blown conflict threatens to explode in the region.
Western coalition forces smashed dozens of military targets, including an airbase, airport and army camp in what Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called ” a proportion action of self-defence”.
The PM today said the UK needs to send a “strong signal” that the Houthi rebel attacks are wrong and cannot be carried out with “impunity”.
He said: “Our aim is very clear, it’s to de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region.” US President Joe Biden hailed the air strikes on sites used by the Iran-backed militia group a “success” – but added he would “not hesitate” to launch more.
It’s the first time strikes have been launched against Houthis since they began wreaking havoc on international shipping in the Red Sea in mid-November.
And it marks a dramatic escalation in the crisis that for weeks has been threatening to ignite an all-out war across the region over Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas.
The Houthis announced that five militants were killed and six injured by the overnight assaults. Their furious forces have vowed to retaliate to a scale “beyond the imagination” and told the US and Britain they had made a “huge mistake launching the war in Yemen”.
Houthi spokesman Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti also added on Al-Arabi TV that “American interests will be a target for our forces wherever they are”.
Sunak said: “Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week.
“This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.” Iran fumed that the strikes on Yemen were a “clear violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and a violation of international laws.
The attacks “will have no result other than fuelling insecurity and instability in the region,” foreign ministry’s spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
