US and UK attack Houthi targets in northern Yemen in Hajjah

AL-MUKALLA: US and British forces attacked a Houthi target in an area of ​​northern Yemen on Sunday, while an EU naval operation destroyed a Yemeni militia drone in the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel reported on Sunday that the US and British “aggression” hit Medi district in Hajjah province on Sunday, the latest wave of attacks by the US and Britain against the Houthis in retaliation for the militia’s anti-ship operation.

The Houthi Republicans’ television station did not provide any further information about the area of ​​the attack or any personal injuries or damage to property.

Earlier, the EU military operation in the Red Sea, known as Aspides, announced on Sunday that its Greek warship Psara had shot down a drone allegedly launched by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden.

The warship repelled an attack by Houthi drones loaded with explosives aimed at a merchant ship escorted by the EU mission.

“The aim of this operation is to protect the lives of seafarers, ensure world trade, protect global common goods, maintain freedom of navigation and contribute to peace and security in the region,” the EU naval mission said on X.

In response to the Houthi attacks on ships that began in November, the United States formed a naval task force in the Red Sea, designated the Houthi as a terrorist organization, and launched attacks on Houthi military sites and mobile drone and missile launchers in Hodeidah, Sanaa, and other Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The Houthis claim that their campaign against the ship is aimed solely at attacking ships bound for Israel and those with links to Israel in order to put pressure on Israel to end its military operations in Gaza. They also targeted US and UK ships after those two countries bombed Yemeni territory under Houthis’ control.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni army said its soldiers repelled a Houthi attack in the southern city of Taiz on Saturday, killing or wounding six Houthi militants, the official SABA news agency reported.

In an attempt to take control of more areas in the besieged city of Taiz, the Houthis attacked the army’s mountain positions in the northeast of the city on Saturday, sparking fighting that left two Houthis dead and four others injured.

The army said the Houthis were forced to abandon their attack and flee after all military advances failed.

Although hostilities across Yemen have decreased significantly since the UN-brokered ceasefire came into effect in April 2022, Houthi attacks on positions in Dhale, Taiz, Marib and other disputed districts have killed or injured scores of government troops.

In addition, one Yemeni soldier was killed and another wounded on Saturday evening while fighting al-Qaeda militants in a valley in the southern province of Abyan.

Southern Transitional Council-funded media outlets reported that al-Qaeda attacked the council’s soldiers in the Omaran Valley in Abyan with drones and heavy machine guns, killing one soldier and wounding another.

Since late 2022, more than 100 Yemeni soldiers have been killed in al-Qaeda guerrilla attacks as STC forces penetrated the militia’s long-held hideouts in rugged and remote valleys and mountains in Abyan and Shabwa.