WASHINGTON, January 13. /TASS/. On the night of January 12, the armed forces of the U.S. and the UK attacked almost 30 locations of the Yemeni Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement, using more than 150 munitions, Reuters reported citing U.S. Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff.

While an assessment was ongoing on the damage from the strikes, Sims told reporters he did not expect a large number of casualties since targets included rural areas, Reuters wrote.

Sims believes the Houthis will try to retaliate. He said that the rebels used an anti-ship ballistic missile, which did not hit a single ship, Reuters said.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden confirmed the strikes by the UK and the US on the night of January 12 against rebel positions in Yemen. As the statement released by the White House press office indicated, the operation was carried out by "US military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands" in response to the "unprecedented Houthi attacks" in the Red Sea. The targets included missile sites, UAVs and Houthi radar stations.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis announced that they would strike Israeli territory and prevent any ships tied to the country from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave was halted. The US military's Central Command estimates that the Houthis have attacked more than 20 civilian vessels in the Red Sea since mid-November.