US and UK Forces Team Up for Joint Military Operation in Yemen, British Officials Confirm

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By Kanishka Singh and Gnaneshwar Rajan

WASHINGTON — U.S. and British forces carried out a collaborative military mission in Yemen on Tuesday, as confirmed by Britain’s Ministry of Defence. The operation targeted a Houthi military site involved in manufacturing drones similar to those utilized in attacks on maritime vessels.

President Donald Trump instructed for an escalation of U.S. attacks against Yemen last month, as his administration declared it would keep targeting Iran-supported Houthi rebels until these groups cease their assaults on Red Sea navigation. The UK and the US had earlier carried out combined missions and strikes within Yemen.

The British statement said intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings located some 15 miles (24 km) south of Yemen's capital Sanaa that were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. It did not mention details about any casualties.

The operation took place under cover of darkness, minimizing the chance of civilian presence in the region, according to the British statement. It added that their aircraft made it back without incident. The U.S. military had not commented at that time.

The Houthi-run TV station reported on Monday that a U.S. air strike had resulted in 68 fatalities at a detention center for African immigrants in Yemen. An anonymous U.S. defense official stated on the same day that the American military was informed about allegations of civilian deaths and was currently evaluating the situation.

Recently, U.S. attacks resulted in numerous casualties, with 74 people killed at an oil facility in mid-April, marking the most lethal strike in Yemen during Trump's presidency, as reported by the Houthi-controlled health ministry.

Advocates for rights have expressed worries over the deaths of civilians.

The U.S. military reported over the weekend that it had targeted more than 800 locations since mid-March, claiming these strikes resulted in the deaths of many Houthis as well as key figures within their ranks and damaged the extremist organization's infrastructure significantly.

Over the last ten years, the Houthis have seized large areas of Yemen.

Starting from November 2023, they have initiated assaults on vessels in the Red Sea, claiming their targets were ships associated with Israel.

According to reports from Gaza’s health ministry, Israel's military operations have resulted in more than 52,000 deaths in Gaza. This has prompted allegations of genocide and war crimes against Israel, which the country refutes. Some people claim their actions are taken in support of Palestinians facing this crisis.

In October 2023, the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated with an attack initiated by Hamas fighters against Israel. According to reports from Israel, this assault resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and around 250 individuals taken hostage.

(Kanishka Singh reported from Washington and Gnaneshwar Rajan reported from Bengaluru; editing by Jacqueline Wong and Lincoln Feast.)