NEW YORK, February 25. /TASS/. The US and the UK carried out a fourth series of strikes on Yemen on Saturday, the US Central Command said.

"On February 24, at approximately 11:50 p.m. (Sanaa Yemen time), US Central Command forces alongside UK Armed Forces, and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted strikes against 18 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen. These strikes from this multilateral coalition targeted areas used by the Houthis to attack international merchant vessels and naval ships in the region," the Central Command said on X.

The targets included Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, attack drones, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter.

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis, said earlier this week that US and UK warplanes had made 278 strikes on Yemen since January 12.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the group, also known as the Houthis, said they would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships affiliated with that country from passing through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave ended. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since mid-November. On January 12, US and UK aircraft, naval ships and submarines struck Houthis sites in some Yemeni cities for the first time. The targets included the Houthis sites for launching missiles and drones, along with locations of radar stations.