UK and US strike Houthi targets in Yemen after rise in

Houthis say strikes, aimed at underground facilities and missile launchers, killed 16 civilians

Joint UK-US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed at least 16 people and wounded 35 others, the rebels have said, the highest publicly acknowledged death toll from strikes carried out in response to their attacks on shipping.

Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe a then-ongoing attack, described the strikes on Thursday as hitting a wide range of underground facilities, missile launchers, command and control sites, a Houthi vessel and other facilities. They called it a response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over the Israel-Hamas war.