WASHINGTON

The US and UK carried out strikes on multiple targets inside Yemen late Thursday "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels," US President Joe Biden said.

Biden said the Houthi attacks that prompted the allied strikes "have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners and our partners, jeopardized trade and threatened freedom of navigation."

"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," he said in a statement. "The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute."

The attack comes in response to ongoing drone and missile strikes by the Yemeni group, which is backed by Iran, on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea that began in November in response to Israel's war on Gaza.

The Red Sea is a critical waterway for international commerce, particularly for oil and fuel shipments, connecting the Suez Canal in Egypt with the Gulf of Aden via the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Suez Canal allows ships coming to and from Europe to transit to Asia without having to take the much longer and costlier route around the southern tip of Africa.

The Houthis have carried out 27 attacks in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, the US military said earlier Thursday.

Houthis claim retaliation

The Al-Masirah TV channel, which belongs to the Houthis, said the Yemeni capital Sanaa was being subjected to "American aggression.” Houthi leader Ali al-Qahoum said the rebel group is targeting American and British warships in the Red Sea in retaliation for the allied strikes.

A senior US military official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity denied that any retaliatory strikes had been conducted on US or allied forces.

"As of right now, we have not seen any retaliatory action directed towards US or other coalition members in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, or Gulf of Aden," the official said.

The overnight strikes were launched from air, surface, and subsurface forces and "destroyed multiple targets in Houthi control," the official said. They targeted Houthi missile, radar and drone capabilities in response to the "unprecedented threat to global commerce" posed by the rebel group, a separate senior administration official said.

The military official declined to specify a percentage of the Houthis capabilities that had been destroyed due to "operational security" but said the damage was "significant."

"The aim of these strikes was very clear from the start, and from the president, and it was to remove the capability for the Houthis to target maritime vessels, whether they be commercial or military, in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, or Gulf of Aden," he said.

US decries Houthis’ ‘reckless attacks’ on international shipping

Later, US Central Command (CENTCOM) also released a statement on the strikes.

"On Jan. 11 at 2:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces, in coordination with the United Kingdom, and support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Bahrain conducted joint strikes on Houthi targets to degrade their capability to continue their illegal and reckless attacks on U.S. and international vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea," the statement said, adding that the move "targeted radar systems, air defense systems, and storage and launch sites for one way attack unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles."

According to CENTCOM, the latest strikes "have no association with and are separate from Operation Prosperity Guardian, a defensive coalition of over 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden."

“We hold the Houthi militants and their destabilizing Iranian sponsors responsible for the illegal, indiscriminate, and reckless attacks on international shipping that have impacted 55 nations so far, including endangering the lives of hundreds of mariners, including the United States,” the statement also quoted General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, as saying.

“Their illegal and dangerous actions will not be tolerated, and they will be held accountable.”

US media also reported that the Ohio-class guided missile submarine USS Florida was used in strikes against Houthis.

Targeting vessels linked with Israel

The Houthis have targeted vessels in the southern Red Sea and warned that they will attack all ships transiting to or from Israel, as well as ships that are owned by Israeli firms. They have said the attacks are meant to support Palestinians as they face Israel's "aggression and siege" in Gaza.

Last month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the creation of a multinational mission to counter the Houthi attacks.

Austin said the US and coalition strikes send "a clear message to the Houthis that they will bear further costs if they do not end their illegal attacks."

The US and UK are carrying out the strikes with unspecified "support" from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands, the Biden administration said.

Biden said the "defensive action" against the Houthis follows months of diplomacy and the "Houthi rebels’ escalating attacks against commercial vessels."

"These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes," he said.

"I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary," he added.

A joint statement released by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, and US said the "precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways."

"The Houthis’ more than two dozen attacks on commercial vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Today’s action demonstrated a shared commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending the lives of mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks," the countries said.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, separately, reiterated the country's support for the strikes.

"Houthi attacks against commercial ships cannot go unanswered," he said in a statement, adding that Denmark would contribute a frigate to the coalition forces.