US, UK launch large-scale retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen

The U.S. military has unleashed large-scale retaliatory airstrikes against multiple Houthi targets in Yemen following months of attacks by the Iranian-backed militants on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The official said that the strikes involved a mix of fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from Navy surface ships and a U.S. Navy submarine, according to two U.S. officials.

One of the officials identified the submarine as the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Florida, which was seen entering the Red Sea via the Suez Canal on Nov. 5, a move publicized by U.S. Central Command.

Another U.S. official confirmed that the United Kingdom also was using its military assets to launch airstrikes against Houthi targets.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who had been under pressure to respond, but hoping to avoid risking wider Middle East conflict, issued a statement calling the move a «defensive action» after extensive warnings.

«Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world's most vital waterways,» he said.

«These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history. These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,» his statement said.

At least five people were killed and six others were wounded in the U.S.-U.K.