The Pentagon announced that the United States and the United Kingdom, along with support from six other countries, launched a new round of strikes against various Houthi targets in Yemen.
In total, the Western powers hit 36 new targets in retaliation for the Houthis' attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand supported the U.S. and U.K. efforts.
"This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to face further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels," Austin said about the retaliation. "We will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways."
The strikes hit weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities that the Houthis used to attack ships from various countries, the Pentagon said. The 36 targets were distributed in 13 locations throughout Yemen. With this new offensive, the United States and the United Kingdom have already carried out more than 10 attacks against the rebel group supported by Iran.
The new attacks come after this Friday, the United States launched a retaliation strike against 85 targets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) and militias backed by the Iranian regime.
Retaliation was carried out in Iraq and Iran in response to a drone attack in Jordan where 3 U.S. soldiers were killed, and more than 40 U.S. service members in that country were injured. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq organization, a militia linked to the Iranian regime, claimed responsibility for the fateful attack.
Iran strongly condemned U.S. retaliation and denied being behind last Sunday's attack by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
In the absence of official confirmation, Friday's U.S. retaliation strike in Iraq and Iran accounted for nearly 40 casualties. Critics considered the Biden Administration's response too slow.
