Houthi warns US, UK will pay a heavy price after airstrikes

A Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jet takes off to join the US-led coalition to conduct airstrikes against military targets in Yemen on January 12 (Photo: Reuters).

"Our country has suffered a large-scale attack by American and British warships, submarines and fighter jets. Surely, the US and Britain will pay a heavy price and suffer all the terrible consequences of this blatant attack," Hussein al-Ezzi, a senior member of the Houthi force, said today, January 12.

Previously, Al Arabiya TV channel quoted sources saying that the US and UK launched an attack campaign on the evening of January 11 and early morning of January 12 targeting Houthis bases in northern Yemen.

Sources confirmed the attack targeted the area near Hodeidah port. In addition, five airstrikes were carried out on Houthi targets in Hodeidah city.

The Pentagon has confirmed strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, stating the targets were Houthi drone production centers and weapons depots.

Reuters quoted a US official as saying that the attacks on Houthi positions were carried out from aircraft, warships and submarines.

The US announced that as of 3:20 a.m. today, the US and the UK have stopped attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen. However, the US announced that it will continue to attack if the Houthi threats do not end.

A US defense official later told Sputnik that there was no attack on the US embassy in Iraq and there were no reports of US warships being attacked following the US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Earlier, some media reported that Houthi forces were accused of launching retaliatory missile attacks on US ships immediately after the US and UK attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.

"The attacks were carried out against targets in Hodeidah," a local government source said.

"Four airstrikes were carried out on Yemen's capital Sanaa," a member of the Sanaa provincial government said.

The city of Taiz in central Yemen was also hit by US and British airstrikes overnight, a source in Yemen's Taiz provincial government told Sputnik .

"Three explosions occurred after an airstrike on Ansar Allah group positions in Al Hawban area in Yemen's Taiz city," the source added.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the coordinated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen were “aimed at disrupting and degrading the Houthis’ ability to endanger sailors and threaten global commerce.”

“Today’s coalition action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will face further consequences if they do not cease their unlawful attacks,” Austin warned.

The Houthis have intervened in the Israel-Hamas conflict by attacking shipping on vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea, even launching drones and missiles at Israel from a distance of more than 1,600km.

The Houthis have threatened to target all ships headed to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned international shipping companies not to trade with Israeli ports.

The Houthis are part of the “axis of resistance,” a group of anti-Israeli forces in the Middle East. They are opposed to the government in Yemen and have controlled the Yemeni capital Sanaa since 2014.

The Houthis have emerged as a major military force in the Arabian Peninsula, with tens of thousands of fighters and a huge arsenal of ballistic missiles and armed drones.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/houthi-canh-bao-my-anh-tra-gia-dat-sau-tran-khong-kich-don-dap-20240112103509230.htm