The United States and United Kingdom launched multiple airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen on Monday as the terror group continues to launch attacks on merchant ships in international waters around the Arabian Peninsula.
U.S. Central Command launched the strikes alongside UK Armed Forces against eight Houthi targets. Supporting the mission were Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
“These strikes from this multilateral coalition targeted areas in Houthi-controlled Yemen used to attack international merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “The targets included missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities.”
CENTOM said that the strikes were intended to “degrade Houthi capability to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on U.S. and U.K. ships as well as international commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.”
“These strikes are separate and distinct from the multinational freedom of navigation actions performed under Operation Prosperity Guardian,” the statement concluded.
U.S. Forces, Allies Conduct Joint Strikes in Yemen
As part of ongoing international efforts to respond to increased Houthi destabilizing and illegal activities in the region, on Jan. 22 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa / Yemen time), U.S. Central Command forces alongside UK… pic.twitter.com/BQwEKZqMAo
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 22, 2024
The strikes come as the U.S. Navy identified on Monday afternoon the two Navy SEALs who were killed in action earlier this month off the coast of Africa.
Spain and Japan assisted the U.S. in searching for Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers, 37, and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, 27, after they went missing on January 11.
The SEALs were climbing up onto a vessel while conducting a nighttime interdiction mission when one of them was knocked off by powerful ocean waves. Following protocol, the next Navy SEAL up jumped into the water to help rescue him.
The ship that the SEAL team interdicted was illegally transporting advanced Iranian conventional weapons to Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.