US-UK forces launch strikes on Yemen's Hodeidah and Kamaran Island

18/6/2024 6:28

        U.S. and British forces have carried out at least six airstrikes on Yemen's Hodeidah International Airport and four strikes on Kamaran Island near the port of Salif off the Red Sea, Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen's Houthi movement, said on Monday.
        
        The strikes on Kamaran mark the first time U.S.-led coalition forces have targeted the island since airstrikes on Houthi targets began in early February.
        
        They follow the Iran-backed Houthis' first successful armed maritime drone strike and other missile assaults that damaged the Tutor and Verbena cargo ships last week. Both of the vessels are abandoned and adrift - with Tutor at risk of sinking, military and security experts said.
        
        The Houthis, who control Yemen's capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In that time, they have sunk one ship, seized another vessel and killed three sailors in separate attacks.
        
        Yemen's internationally-recognised government believes Houthi fighters in the past have used Kamaran Island and Port Salif as a site to launch their Red Sea attacks as well as hide stockpiles of missiles and drones in its salt mines, two military sources within the government told Reuters.