STRIKE BACK Britain & US blitz over a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen capital in fresh wave of airstrikes on Iran-backed militia
THE US and UK have blitzed more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the militants' surge in ship attacks.
The airstrikes come just days after the terrorist organisation claimed responsibility for four missile attacks, including on a UK cargo ship and two US ships, in just 24 hours.
Early reports claimed the UK and US aircraft had targeted Yemen's capital, Sana'a, with a series of raids.
American officials have since confirmed that 18 Houthi sites have been bombed and several locations destroyed.
Today's strikes are thought to be the strongest from UK and US forces in weeks.
The targets included Houthi weapons, radar sites, command and control centres, as well as underground weapons storage facilities, CNN reports.
Footage shows US and British aircraft and warships in the southern Red Sea launching a barrage of strikes towards western Yemen.
The US fighter jets launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which is currently in the Red Sea, according to AP.
It marks the fourth time the international coalition has launched a combined attack on the Houthis.
The Ministry of Defence+ confirmed the attack following the strikes.
A statement read: "Four Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by two Voyager tankers, again participated in a deliberate coalition strike on Saturday 24 February against Houthi military facilities in Yemen.
"The RAF aircraft were allocated multiple targets located at two sites.
"Intelligence analysis had successfully identified several very long-range drones, used by the Houthis for both reconnaissance and attack missions, at a former surface-to-air missile battery site several miles north-east of Sanaa.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV precision guided bombs against the drones and their launchers, notwithstanding the Houthis’ use of the old missile battery revetments to try to protect the drones.
"Previous RAF strikes, on 11 January and 3 February, had already successfully destroyed a number of buildings used to support drone and cruise missile operations at Bani, some fifteen miles west of Abbs airfield in north-western Yemen.
"Additional buildings at the Bani site had subsequently been confirmed as also being involved in the drone and missile activities there and were therefore targeted during this latest strike."
The MoD also confirmed that "the greatest possible care was taken to minimise any risk of civilian casualties."
On Monday, the Iran-backed Houthis claimed to have blasted a British-owned cargo ship with a missile and shot down a US drone in the Red Sea.
The crew of the cargo ship Rubymar was forced to "abandon the vessel" after coming under attack off the coast of Yemen.
Pictures soon emerged of the debris of the US drone MQ9 after it was shot down in the port city of Hodeidah, according to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea.
Mr Sarea issued a statement on Monday claiming that the Houthis were responsible for the attack.
He said the vessel was hit with "appropriate missiles" and was at risk of sinking.
The spokesman stated: "The Naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation, targeting the British ship RUBYMAR with a number of appropriate naval missiles.
"As a result of the extensive damage the ship suffered, it is now at risk of potential sinking."
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