Houthi strikes: Everything we know about the US-UK attack on targets in Yemen

The US and UK have carried out air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen with the aim of deterring attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea.

The strikes were also backed by a number of the US and UK's allies.

Missiles were launched overnight into Friday, hitting dozens of sites - with some casualties reported.

The Houthis say they are not deterred by the attacks, but the US suggests the strikes have damaged the rebel group's military capability.

This is what we know so far.

The US says it "executed deliberate strikes on over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations".

The Pentagon described its targets as radar systems, drone storage and launch sites, missile storage and launch facilities and Houthi command and control nodes.

Strikes were reported in the Yemen capital Sanaa - which is controlled by the rebels - as well as the Houthi Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Dhamar and the group's north-western stronghold of Saada.

According to the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), the British strikes were in Bani in the north-west - which the MoD said was a drone operational site - and Abbs airfield, which intelligence said was a launching site for missiles and drones.

There were 72 strikes in all, according to the Houthis' military spokesman.

The Houthi spokesman also said five of its members had been killed and six others injured.

The Pentagon said the strikes were on military, not civilian targets using "precision weapons".

The bulk of the firepower came from US jets. The US has an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, as well as air bases in the region.

US Navy warships fired Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, which are GPS-guided and can be programmed to fly evasively, the US military says.

While no specific figures have been given for how many missiles were fired, the US says more than 100 precision-guided munitions "of various types" were used.

Meanwhile, the UK said it sent four RAF Typhoons from Cyprus, carrying Paveway IV guided bombs. It has not said how many were released.

Though the Royal Navy has two warships in the Red Sea, neither can fire land attack missiles and so would not have been directly involved in the strikes.

Reacting to Friday's strikes, the group's leader Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said the US and UK would "soon realise" the action was "the greatest folly in their history".

"America and Britain made a mistake in launching the war on Yemen because they did not benefit from their previous experiences," he wrote on social media, adding "every individual in this world is faced with two choices - either to stand with the victims of genocide or to stand with its perpetrators."

Another spokesman for the group said the US and UK were wrong to think they could deter Yemen's support for Palestinians.

Iran, which backs the Houthis, has condemned the strikes on Yemen as a "clear violation of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and a violation of international laws.

The Houthis' position on the Red Sea attacks is that they are preventing ships affiliated with Israel from crossing the route - due to events in Gaza.

They have previously said that any ship destined for Israel or with Israeli links is a "legitimate target". However, many commercial vessels that have been targeted appear to have no such connection.

US President Joe Biden said the strikes were in "direct response" to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

"These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardised trade, and threatened freedom of navigation," he said.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the action was "necessary and proportionate" to protect global shipping.

"Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week," he said. "This cannot stand."

The US-UK attacks were backed by a coalition of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea.

In a statement, the allies said the multilateral strikes were conducted "in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defence".

"These precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world's most critical waterways," the statement read.