Houthi rebels vow response to US-led strikes on Yemen

The Houthi rebels in Yemen are vowing to respond to the massive U.S. and U.K. strikes on Thursday that targeted supply facilities and logistical hubs used by the Iranian-backed group.

A Friday statement from the Houthis shared on Telegram said 73 sites were hit by American and British strikes, killing five fighters and injuring another six.

“The American and British enemy bears full responsibility for this criminal aggression against our Yemeni people, and it will not go unanswered and unpunished,” the statement reads.

The U.S. and U.K. hit critical military sites across Yemen, including in the capital of Sana’a, with warships and fighter jets, targeting Houthi missile, radar and drone capabilities.

Washington said the strikes will cripple the capability of the Houthis to carry out attacks on the Red Sea, where the Iranian-backed group has fired rockets and drones at merchant ships, disrupting global trade.

The Houthis claim they are targeting Israeli-based ships or ships headed to Israel in protest to the war against the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. But the Houthi attacks have been widespread against a number of international commercial ships, and they have disrupted global shipping through the important transit corridor of the Red Sea.

The strikes this week may have taken out Houthi capabilities, but they do not appear to have worked in deterring the Houthis from taking further action in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said Friday they will “not hesitate to target sources of threat and all hostile targets on land and sea in defense of Yemen.”

“This brutal aggression will not deter Yemen from its position of supporting and standing with the oppression of the Palestinian people,” they said. “The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm their continued prevention of Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine from navigation in the Arabian and Red Seas.”

Iran, the chief sponsor of the Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups that have launched assaults on U.S. positions since Israel began fighting in Gaza, also condemned the attacks in Yemen.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani warned of repercussions to the attack, which he said violated Yemen’s sovereignty.

“The arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region,” Kananni said Friday.