Houthi rebels issue chilling threat over UK airstrikes and warn of 'heavy price'

12 January 2024 , 08:38

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Houthi rebels issue chilling threat over UK airstrikes and warn of 'heavy price'

Houthi rebels in Yemen who have attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea since the start of the Israel-Gaza war have issued a chilling threat following British airstrikes last night.

The group has warned the UK will "pay a heavy price" for this "blatant aggression" as our nation led successful strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels.

A high-ranking Houthi official, Ali al-Qahoum, wrote on social media: "The battle will be bigger ... and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British." Meanwhile, Houthis’ deputy foreign minister Hussein al-Izzi told Yemeni TV channel Al-Masirah that the US and UK will "pay a heavy price" for this "blatant aggression."

UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has been speaking with media this morning and said UK jets launched strikes on two Houthi targets in Yemen overnight, while US jets targeted a further 12. He says the operation was "limited, proportionate and necessary" to defend war ships and shipping vessels in the Red Sea. He says no further strikes are currently planned.

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One of four RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to join the US-led coalition conducting air strikes (PA)

The Ministry of Defence has issued a statement on the strikes. It reads: "On 11 January, Royal Air Force aircraft joined coalition forces in striking a number of facilities used by the Houthi rebel faction in Yemen to attack shipping in the southern Red Sea. The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond has already been active alongside US and French warships in defending vital international shipping lanes against Houthi drones and missiles.

"Given the persistence of the Houthis in threatening merchant ships, several of which have already suffered damage, and the deliberate targeting of HMS Diamond and US Navy vessels on 9 January, coalition forces identified key facilities involved in these attacks, and agreed to conduct a carefully coordinated strike to reduce the Houthis’ capability to violate international law in this manner.

Four RAF Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker therefore used Paveway IV guided bombs to conduct precision strikes on two of these Houthi facilities. One was a site at Bani in north-western Yemen used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones. A number of buildings involved in drone operations were targeted by our aircraft.

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The other location struck by our aircraft was the airfield at Abbs. Intelligence has shown that it has been used to launch both cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea. Several key targets at the airfield were identified and prosecuted by our aircraft.

In planning the strikes, particular care was taken to minimise any risks to civilians, and any such risks were mitigated further by the decision to conduct the strikes during the night. The detailed results of the strikes are being assessed, but early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow, and our commitment to protecting the sea-lanes, through which some 15 per cent of the world’s shipping passes and which is vital to the global economy, has been amply demonstrated."

Bradley Jolly