US and UK launch second joint airstrikes on Houthi missile sites in Yemen US and British forces have conducted joint airstrikes targeting Houthi missile sites in Yemen for a second time. The latest strikes came shortly after the White House said Joe Biden, the US president, had spoken to the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, emphasising the need to continue “disrupting and degrading” Houthi military capabilities. Three US officials confirmed the latest move against the Iran-aligned group over its targeting of Red Sea shipping, according to Reuters. The US military denied claims that the Yemeni rebels had successfully targeted a US military support ship earlier in the day. White House spokesman John Kirby said the US president had discussed the situation with the British prime minister on Monday, following continued Houthi attacks on shipping transiting the Red Sea and nearby Gulf of Aden over the past week. “They talked about what’s going on in the Red Sea and the need for a continued international multilateral approach to disrupting and degrading Houthi capabilities,” Kirby told reporters in Washington, in an apparent reference to military action. I’m Fran Lawther and we’ll be bringing you the latest updates as we get them. The US-UK strikes are currently ongoing, according to Sky news, against Houthi targets in Yemen. They have pinpointed about 12 sites, according to the New York Times. Although the strikes are only the second time British forces have joined in, for US forces they are the eighth set of attacks in rceent weeks, retaliating against Houthi attacks on shipping in a crucial international commercial route. Earlier on Monday, the US military denied claims made by the Houthis that they had attacked an American cargo ship, Ocean Jazz, in the Gulf of Aden. A statement from the Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, reported by Reuters: “The Yemeni armed forces continue to retaliate to any American or British aggression against our country by targeting all sources of threat in the Red and Arab Sea.” The US military denied the claims. The continued strikes show how the UK and US continue to be drawn into conflict in the Middle East amid Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October and Israel’s destructive ground campaign in Gaza, in which over 25,000 people have been killed. On Monday, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet and the top Navy commander in the Middle East, told AP that Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out since October – but stopped short of saying Iran is directing them. Reuters says it confirmed with three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, that fresh airstrikes were carried out, but did not say how many targets were hit. Before, US and UK forces mainly hit Houthi missiles and radar sites, striking more than 60 targets in 28 locations, according to AP: The Houthis’ media office said in an online statement that several American and British raids targeted Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. And Jamal Hassan, a resident from south Sanaa, told The Associated Press that two strikes landed near his home, setting off car alarms in the street. An Associated Press journalist in Sanaa also heard aircraft flying above the skies of Sanaa overnight Monday. Here is a bit more from AP on the latest joint airstrikes: US officials say the US and British militaries are bombing multiple sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. It is the second time the two allies have conducted coordinated retaliatory strikes on the rebels’ missile launching capabilities. Officials say warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets were used to take out Houthi missile storage sites and launchers. The joint operation comes about 10 days after US and British warships and fighter jets struck more than 60 targets in 28 locations. US and UK launch second joint airstrikes on Houthi missile sites in Yemen US and British forces have conducted joint airstrikes targeting Houthi missile sites in Yemen for a second time. The latest strikes came shortly after the White House said Joe Biden, the US president, had spoken to the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, emphasising the need to continue “disrupting and degrading” Houthi military capabilities. Three US officials confirmed the latest move against the Iran-aligned group over its targeting of Red Sea shipping, according to Reuters. The US military denied claims that the Yemeni rebels had successfully targeted a US military support ship earlier in the day. White House spokesman John Kirby said the US president had discussed the situation with the British prime minister on Monday, following continued Houthi attacks on shipping transiting the Red Sea and nearby Gulf of Aden over the past week. “They talked about what’s going on in the Red Sea and the need for a continued international multilateral approach to disrupting and degrading Houthi capabilities,” Kirby told reporters in Washington, in an apparent reference to military action. I’m Fran Lawther and we’ll be bringing you the latest updates as we get them.