DUBAI, April 4. /TASS/. Forces of the United States and the United Kingdom delivered a total of 424 strikes targeting the territory of Yemen since January 12, killing at least 37 people, the leader of Yemen’s rebel Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement Abdel Malik al-Houthi said.
"The British-American aggressor performed 424 air assaults and sea-based bombings. <…> As a result of the British-American aggression 37 people were killed and 30 were injured," he said in a speech, aired by Houthi-owned Al Masirah television.
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 Ansar Allah’s actions, US officials announced the formation of an international coalition and the preparation of Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation and protection of ships in the Red Sea. On the night of January 12, US and UK forces launched strikes using aircraft, ships and submarines against Yemeni rebel movement targets in a number of cities, including Sanaa and Hodeidah. The targets included missile sites, UAVs and the Houthis’ radar stations.