U.S., Allies Launch Airstrikes On Houthi Targets Across Yemen

The U.S. and its allies launched airstrikes on more than a dozen Houthi rebel targets in Yemen in retaliation to the missile and drone attack by the militant group on ships in the Red Sea.

The United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands joined the U.S. in the strikes, according to Bloomberg report.

"These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history. These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation," President Joe Biden said in a statement.

American and British forces struck radar installations, storage sites and missile launchers, Bloomberg reported citing a U.S. official, who asked not to be identified. The attacks are in response to a string of attacks that have disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Fighter jets based on the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier, as well as Tomahawk missiles launched from submarines and surface ships, struck Houthi locations, the Bloomberg report said. Heavy explosions were reported in the Yemen's capital Sana’a and the port city of Al Hudaydah, it added.

The strikes were intended to cripple the militant group’s ability to attack commercial vessels following Houthi barrages of drones and missiles fired into a vital trade waterway, the report said.