The United States and Great Britain struck 13 targets belonging to Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday, amid a recent surge in ship attacks by the Tehran-backed terror group.
The deployment was the fifth time this year that the two allies have attacked the Islamic Republic’s proxy group since January 12.
According to U.S. military officials, the maneuvers included incursions against the militia’s aerial vehicles, command centers, support structures, and missile launching sites.
The Houthis have been waging an almost eight-month-long effort to disrupt the region's commercial shipping in a campaign that they claim is to show solidarity with Hamas as they fight Israel in Gaza.
On Tuesday, three Houthi ballistic missiles hit a Greek-owned bulk carrier, the M/V Laax, while it was transversing the Red Sea. No injuries were reported in the altercation, and the ship was able to continue its voyage.
The actions come one day after a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down while in use over Yemen’s central Marib province. The surveillance craft was the third to be lost this month by the U.S.
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