UK Joins Airstrike on Houthi Drone Factory in Yemen
The UK's military has rejoined the U.S.-led campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels, reprising a role that Britain played at the height of the militant group's anti-shipping campaign last year.
Overnight Monday, Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters joined in U.S. airstrikes against a Houthi drone manufacturing center in Yemen. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, intelligence analysts found a cluster of buildings south of Sanaa that were used for making drones "of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden." British forces attacked the facility in order to defend freedom of navigation and protect the UK's economic interests, the MoD said.
"This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation. A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fueling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK," said British defense secretary John Healey.
Offering more detail than U.S. forces have provided in recent months, the MoD said that Typhoon FGR4 fighters - with aerial refueling support from the UK's Voyager tankers - hit several of these buildings with Paveway IV guided bombs. "Very careful planning had been completed to allow the targets to be prosecuted with minimal risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure," the UK MOD emphasized. "As a further precaution, the strike was conducted after dark, when the likelihood of any civilians being in the area was reduced yet further."
The U.S. air campaign has completed more than 800 strikes since March 15, and has also taken aim at dual-use targets and individual Houthi leaders. On April 25, a U.S. strike destroyed the fuel terminal at the Houthi port of Ras Isa, along with an adjacent tanker truck depot; the strike killed an estimated 80 people, according to Houthi media. More than 100 more were reportedly injured, including - according to TASS - three Russian sailors who were aboard a nearby tanker.