US targets Houthi weapons caches in night-time strikes on Yemen

Attacks reported on Sanaa and across north-west, with Pentagon claiming weapons storage sites hit

Yemenis stand near what Houthi military media said was an American MQ9 Reaper drone shot down by the Iran-backed group in Al Jawf governorate on Saturday. Photo: Houthi military media / Reuters

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US air strikes hit Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen overnight, including the capital Sanaa, the Pentagon and Houthi-run media said on Sunday.

American warplanes staged strikes on Saturday night against advanced weapons storage facilities operated by the Iran-backed group, the Pentagon told AFP.

The sites "contained various weapons used to target military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden", according to information provided by the Pentagon.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah news outlet reported at least nine "American and British raids" across the capital Sanaa, its suburbs and Amran governorate in the north-west of the country.

There were no immediate reports of casualties and no comment from British authorities.

The US and UK have repeatedly attacked Houthi-controlled areas in response to the group's assaults on Red Sea shipping over the war in Gaza. Last month, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said stealth bomber jets had hit underground storage facilities. Washington could hit targets "no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified”, he said.

Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which the Houthis say target ships connected to or travelling to Israel, have caused major disruption to global trade and prompted the EU to kick-start a regional naval mission to counter the strikes.

The Houthis have also fired drones at Tel Aviv, killing one person in an attack in July.

The latest US offensive came as the Houthis claimed to have shot down 12 MQ-9 US Reaper drones over the past year, saying the surge in downed drones "has led to significant embarrassment and questions about the transparency of the US military’s response".

Washington previously confirmed some of its Reaper drones, worth approximately $30 million each, have been shot down by Houthi surface-to-air missiles.

Israel has also launched several strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including deadly attacks on the vital Hodeidah port – a lifeline for a country enduring one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.