Airstrikes by international forces keep hitting multiple sites in areas controlled by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group in North Yemen. The latest strikes yesterday targeted locations in Bajil of Yemen's Al-Hudaydah to the west of Yemen.
Houthi-run media quoted a security official saying that the "American-British aggression" launched two air strikes in Bajil District. The official did not reveal the magnitude of the damage caused by the air raids.
The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group has stored missiles in Bajil over the past few months as part of their preparation for war against U.S.-led international forces in the Red Sea.
In January this year, sources told Sheba Intelligence that six missiles, called Sa'ir missiles, were transported on trucks from a depot in the Al-Nahdain Mountain, which overlooks Sana'a. The truck reached a depot in Bajil of Al-Hudaydah province. The other truck continued the journey until it reached a depot in the Kilo 16 camp in Al-Hudaydah.
Moreover, the sources said in January, gunboats, boobytrapped and self-driving boats, and naval mines were transported from workshops in the Bajil area in Al-Hudaydah to the ports and islands under the group's control to carry out naval attacks.
The U.S. and U.K. have been targeting Houthi military sites in North Yemen since January 12 to counter the group's attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.
Today, the U.S. Central Command said, "Between 10:50 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on April 16, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas in Yemen."
It added, "It was determined the UAVs presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels."
The Houthis have been targeting Israeli-UK-US-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea, displaying solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where more than 33,800 people have been killed in an Israeli offensive since October last year.