The US and Britain conducted strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday, two US defense officials told CBS News . US Central Command (CENTCOM) said eight targets were struck and the strikes were supported by several other countries. “As part of ongoing international efforts to respond to increased Houthi destabilizing and illegal activities in the region, on Jan. 22 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa / Yemen time), US Central Command forces alongside UK Armed Forces, and with the support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted strikes on 8 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted to X. “These strikes from this multilateral coalition targeted areas in Houthi-controlled Yemen used to attack international merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. The targets included missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities,” it added. “These strikes are intended to degrade Houthi capability to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on U.S. and U.K. ships as well as international commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.” Officials in the US military said that the strikes on all eight targets were successful. The US deployed fighter aircraft from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier as part of the strikes, according to CNN . A Houthi military official told Al Jazeera that the US and UK attacks on Monday were "the most violent in Sanaa since the start of the attacks in Yemen". Monday’s attack marks the second time this month that the two countries conducted joint strikes against the Houthis. Earlier this month, with support from other countries, the two nations targeted just under 30 locations with 150 different weapons. In total, the US has conducted eight rounds of strikes, including Monday's, against Houthi targets to retaliate for the group's continued attacks on commercial shipping, noted CBS News . The Iran-backed Houthis have launched over 30 attacks in commercial shipping lanes since November. Two US officials told CNN on Monday that the United States has named the ongoing operation to target Houthi assets in Yemen “Operation Poseidon Archer”. The named operation suggests a more organized, formal and potentially long-term approach to the operations in Yemen, where the US has been hitting Houthi infrastructure as the Iran-backed rebel group has vowed to keep targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The first wave of US and British strikes marked the beginning of Operation Poseidon Archer, one official said. The officials emphasized that Operation Poseidon Archer is separate from Operation Prosperity Guardian, which is a defensive coalition of nations who have committed naval assets and personnel to bolstering security in the Red Sea. Two days before the US and British strikes, the two armies shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by the Houthis towards the Red Sea, in what was one of the biggest attacks by the group to date. Related articles: UAV approaching Israeli territory intercepted by the IAF Iran pulling forces from Yemen amid heightened US pressure US targets Russia network aiding Houthis with arms, grain US deploys B-2 bombers and carrier strike groups Last Sunday, US fighter aircraft downed an anti-ship cruise missile fired at a US Navy destroyer from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, CENTCOM said. Three days later, the US conducted a fourth round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The strikes came after the US army said that the Houthi rebels attacked a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden.
