UK military launches airstrikes with US targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Cliff Notes

• The British military has participated in joint airstrikes with the United States against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. This marks the first strike under the Biden administration involving the UK, targeting locations used for drone manufacturing near the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
• This action is part of “Operation Rough Rider,” a campaign aimed at countering the Houthis’ attacks on maritime shipping routes in the Red Sea. The UK reported a significant drop in shipping traffic contributing to regional instability.
• The airstrikes come in the wake of controversial US actions, including a strike that allegedly hit a prison and resulted in numerous casualties. Tensions have escalated as the US continues to confront Iranian support for the Houthi movement.

UK military launches airstrikes with US targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels

This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The British military launched airstrikes with the United States targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said early Wednesday, their first attack in Washington’s new intense campaign targeting the Iran-backed group.

The United Kingdom offered a detailed explanation for launching the strike, in a departure from the U.S., which has offered few details about what it says are more than 1,000 targets it has hit since beginning its campaign on March 15.

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.

UK strike hits near Yemen’s capital

The U.K. Defense 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 (25 kilometers) south of Sanaa.”

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.

The British offered no information on the damage done in the strike, nor whether they believed anyone had been killed.

The U.S. military’s Central Command didn’t acknowledge the strike.

“This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation,” U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said.

“A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fueling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the U.K.”

The Houthis reported several strikes around Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which the group has held since 2014. Other strikes hit around Saada.

The British have taken part in airstrikes alongside the U.S. 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 U.S. President Donald Trump.

UK strike comes after US allegedly hit prison

The joint U.K.-U.S. strike follows an alleged U.S. airstrike on Monday that hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The U.S. military said it was investigating.

On April 18, 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 U.S. campaign.

The U.S. 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, 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. The rebels began their attacks over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli decision to block the flow of aid to Palestinians.

The American strikes have drawn controversy in the United States over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

Early Thursday, Hegseth directly threatened Iran in a message on the social platform X.

“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” he wrote. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”