13 January 2024 , 21:42
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British military chiefs were last night braced for revenge attacks by Houthi fanatics.
The Iran-backed militia group has vowed to respond to air strikes on Yemen. Four RAF Typhoons based in Cyprus took part in the first blitz by US and UK forces on Thursday night and are reportedly ready to join another.
Destroyer HMS Diamond is on “high alert” in the Red Sea and poised for any reaction. MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told us: “We must prepare ourselves for any attempts at reprisals on UK personnel and allies, most likely by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.”
The US and UK acted in an attempt to deter the Houthis from aiming drones and rockets at cargo ships in the Red Sea. But the air attacks have led to rising fears of terror outrages on UK soil.
Yemeni protestors lift rifles at demo in capital Sanaa on Friday (Getty Images)Tensions in the Red Sea have escalated since November when the Islamist fighters started targeting one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. They claim it is to support Palestinians following the October invasion by Israeli forces.
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Since then the Houthis – who control most of Yemen and whose slogans include “death to Israel” – are accused of at least 28 separate attacks, some at ships with only tenuous or no clear links to Israel.
On Friday night they reportedly fired a missile which landed around 400 metres from a Panama-flagged ship, believing it was a UK vessel. The attack was followed by three small craft tailing other ships.
Airfield before and after shots (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Tech)Earlier this week, masked gunmen hijacked a Greek-owned oil tanker – while HMS Diamond and US warships shot down 18 Houthi drones and three missiles heading towards them. Five militants were reportedly killed and six injured during the first night of air attacks on Yemen on Thursday.
Early yesterday, USS Carney blasted a radar base near the capital Sanaa with Tomahawk missiles. And last night there was an explosion in the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeida following rocket fire by Houthi rebels. Satellite images show bomb damage to airfields in Yemen. The US says it used over 150 precision-guided munitions at 60 military targets, including radar, drone and missile sites.
The RAF said it attacked a drone site and an airfield. One Western intelligence source expects the terror threat to increase.
He said: “Britain as a kind of deputy to America is high in the sights of jihadists, and the expanding Middle East conflict is making us a greater target, even though our actions were justified.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to brief the Commons about the situation tomorrow following criticism MPs were not consulted.
Huge turnout at protests (AFP via Getty Images)Lib Dems have called for a retrospective vote on military action. Foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran declared: “Parliament should not be bypassed.”
Mr Sunak has said there are no plans for further strikes but Foreign Secretary David Cameron has refused to rule them out.
Both the UK and the US have told the UN their action is in line with international law and the UN charter.
But they have been condemned by Russia and China. Turkey accused both countries of trying to turn the Red Sea into a “sea of blood”. Thousands of Yeminis have demonstrated against Britain and America.
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Houthi leader Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said the US and UK would soon realise the attacks were “the greatest folly in their history”.
In London around 200,000 people marched in support of Palestine and against the bombing of Yemen.
Nine were arrested and protesters chanted: “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around”.
The Houthis – branded terrorists by US President Joe Biden – have been waging a decade-long civil war against Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
The UN estimates over 377,000 had been killed by 2022. Yesterday Mr Biden said the US had delivered a “private message” to Iran about the group. Iran denies involvement in the Red Sea attacks – but the US says they provide crucial intelligence.