UK confirms joint attack with US on Houthi targets in Yemen

The UK's Ministry of Defence has confirmed its participation in a joint attack with the US on Houthi targets in Yemen. It says it did so with the support of six allied nations.

The MoD said in a statement that the UK and US "conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen."

The RAF sent Typhoon fighter jets, with support of Voyager tankers, on a mission to destroy a "ground control station" on the Red Sea coast in As Salif, and a similar installation in Al Munirah.

In a statement, the MoD said: "Typhoons employed Paveway IV precision guided bombs against multiple military targets identified by careful intelligence analysis at three locations."

The third location mentioned was Bani, where they targeted "a group of facilities". They said that "the strikes were very carefully planned to ensure minimal risk of civilian casualties".

The MoD claim that it's from the ground control centres that both attack and reconnaissance unmanned drones are controlled. Similar to the type of drones that the Royal Navy have previously shot down.

It comes as a joint response to a Houthi attack that killed three US army troops, asleep in a tent in Jordan. At the time, President Joe Biden said that the US "will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing".

The UK have said they've worked with support from Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

In a joint statement from these nations and the UK and US, they said: "Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats."

This comes after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a telephone call with New Zealand's PM Christopher Luxon on Friday.

In it, Luxon gave support to the UK "for action to deter Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea." With both leaders agreeing on the importance of building an "international coalition" against what's happening in the Red Sea.