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UK launches Yemen airstrikes, joining intense US campaign against Houthi rebels UK launches Yemen airstrikes, joining intense US campaign against Houthi rebels
(about 5 hours later)
Strike targeted buildings used to make drones, officials say, in British military’s first involvement since Trump took office RAF Typhoons targeted buildings used to make drones, officials say, in British military’s first involvement since Trump took office
The British military launched airstrikes with the US, targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said on Wednesday, in its first involvement with America’s new intense campaign targeting the Iranian-backed group. British fighter jets joined their US counterparts in airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels overnight, the first military action authorised by the Labour government and the first UK participation in an aggressive American bombing campaign against the group.
The UK offered a detailed explanation of its reason to launch the strike, in a departure from the US, which has offered few details about the more than 800 strikes it has conducted since beginning its campaign on 15 March. RAF Typhoons, refuelled by Voyager air tankers, targeted a cluster of buildings 15 miles south of the capital, Sana’a, which the UK said were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones that had targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation,” said John Healey, the UK’s defence secretary. “A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK.” The British defence secretary, John Healey, said the attack was launched in response to “a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation”. The Iran-backed group has attacked merchant shipping and western warships, leading to a sharp drop in trade flows.
The Houthis reported several strikes around Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, which the group has held since 2014. Other strikes hit around Saada. “A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK,” Healey added in a social media post shortly after midnight.
The campaign, called Operation Rough Rider, has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Further updates were expected from the UK later on Wednesday.
The UK’s defence ministry described the site attacked as “a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some 15 miles (25km) south of Sanaa.” Britain had joined with the US to conduct five rounds of airstrikes against the Houthis between January and May 2024, part of a campaign authorised by the Biden administration, but has not been involved in a fresh and more intense US effort until now.
Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s took part in the raid, dropping Paveway IV guided bombs, the ministry added. “The strike was conducted after dark, when the likelihood of any civilians being in the area was reduced yet further,” the ministry said. Since the launch on 15 March of Operation Rough Rider under the Trump administration, 800 targets have been struck resulting in the deaths of “hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders”, according to the US military’s Central Command.
The British offered no information on the damage done in the strike, nor whether it believed anyone had been killed. The US military’s Central Command did not acknowledge the strike. There have also been reports of higher civilian casualties. This week, the Houthis said 68 people were killed when a detention centre holding African migrants was struck in Saada, north-west Yemen, while 80 civilians were reported to have died in an attack on the port of Ras Isa on 18 April.
The British have taken part in airstrikes alongside the US since the Biden administration began its campaign of strikes targeting the Houthis back in January 2024. However, this new strike is the first to see the British involved in the campaign under Trump. Annie Shiel, the US director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (Civic), said the “US strikes continue to raise significant questions about the precautions taken to prevent civilian harm, as required by both international law and US policy”, and noted that there appeared to have been a shift in policy under Donald Trump.
The joint UK-US strike follows an alleged a US airstrike on Monday that hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The US military said it was investigating. Overnight on Tuesday, the UK said it had taken steps to minimise the risk of civilian casualties. The Houthi buildings were targeted with Paveway IV missiles once, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, “very careful planning had been completed to allow the targets to be prosecuted with minimal risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure”.
On 18 April, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest known attack of the American campaign. The MoD also emphasised that “as a further precaution, the strike was conducted after dark, when the likelihood of any civilians being in the area was reduced yet further”, though no damage assessment was offered.
The US is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region – the USS Harry S Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea. Sign up to First Edition
The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel. Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters
The strikes separately have drawn controversy in America over defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks. after newsletter promotion
There was little immediate comment from the US, though the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has emphasised that the American military must emphasise “lethality, lethality, lethality” and has cut programmes intended to minimise civilian harm.
News agencies said the Houthis reported several strikes around Sana’a, which the group has held since 2014, but there were few other details immediately available. Other strikes hit the area around Saada.
The Houthis are targeting shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in support of Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza, subject of a renewed offensive by Israel. Though the US boasts considerably more firepower than the group, a $60m (£45m) US navy F-18 Super Hornet jet was lost at sea on Tuesday.
US officials said initial reports from the scene indicated the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, on to which the F-18 was being towed, made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire. That contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard and sinking.
The start of Operation Rough Rider caused controversy in the US over Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks, including a group containing a journalist.