U.S.-led airstrikes hit Houthi targets after reported fresh attack on ship in Red Sea

Yemenis shout anti-U.S. and Israel slogans during a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

SANAA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Warplanes of the U.S.-British coalition launched multiple airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Friday, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

The strikes targeted Houthi camps in three districts, including the northern districts of Al-Zuhrah and Alluheyah, and Bait al-Faqih district, to the south of the port city, said the television without providing details on any casualties.

Earlier in the day, a British maritime security agency reported a new missile attack on a commercial vessel near Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, the second attack in less than 24 hours.

"The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency received a report of an incident in the vicinity of 70 nautical miles north west of al-Mukha (south of Yemen's Hodeidah port city). The master reports the vessel was attacked by a missile and reports an explosion in close proximity," the UKMTO said in a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The military authorities are responding," it said, noting that the vessel and crew were reported safe.

On Thursday, the Houthis also launched a missile attack on what they described as a British commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthi group has vowed to continue launching missile attacks on Israel-linked vessels, as well as U.S. and British ships, in a move to show its solidarity with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) fighting Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last October.

A protestor holds a model of a Houthi missile during a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Yemenis shout anti-U.S. and Israel slogans during a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Yemenis take part in a protest held against the Israel's continued war on the Gaza Strip, and the U.S.-led airstrikes and sanctions against the Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen on Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)