DUBAI, April 1. /TASS/. The US and the UK have carried out airstrikes on the al-Taif area in the Yemeni province of Hodeidah controlled by Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement, the Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV channel reported.
On March 29, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the US military had destroyed four drones launched by the Houthis. CENTCOM added that the drones had been aimed at a coalition vessel and a US warship.
Following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement said it would strike Israeli territory and prevent ships associated with Israel from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait until the operation in the Palestinian enclave was halted. The Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since last November. On March 24, the movement’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said that his supporters were determined to attack Israel-linked ships traveling across the Indian Ocean towards the Cape of Good Hope.
In response to the Houthis’ actions, the US authorities announced the establishment of an international coalition and the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. British and US forces started carrying out regular strikes on the rebels’ military targets across Yemen.