✕CloseAerial footage shows moment RAF Typhoon strikes Yemen military target
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The United States government has officially designated Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist grup.
A US official said a new designation to classify Yemen’s Houthi rebels as specially designated global terrorists is aimed at cutting off the group’s funding and weapons.
The official said that Houthi attacks on US military forces and international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are the “textbook definition of terrorism”.
The designation will be reconsidered if the Houthis cease their Red Sea attacks.
The group were first listed as a terrorist group under Donald Trump and delisted in 2021 by Anthony Blinken.
A spokesperson for the Houthis said: “US designation will not affect our position, attacks on ships heading to Israel will continue.”
Officials said they would design the financial penalties to minimise harm to Yemen’s 32 million people, who are among the world’s poorest and hungriest after years of war between the Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition.
But aid officials expressed concern, with Oxfam America associate director Scott Paul saying the decision will only add “another level of uncertainty and threat for Yemenis still caught in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises”.
The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing.
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US designates Yemen’s Houthis as specially designated global terrorists
A US official said a new designation to classify Yemen’s Houthi rebels as specially designated global terrorists is aimed at cutting off the group’s funding and weapons.
The official said that Houthi attacks on US military forces and international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are the “textbook definition of terrorism”.
The designation will be reconsidered if the Houthis cease their Red Sea attacks.
A spokesperson for the Houthis said: “US designation will not affect our position, attacks on ships heading to Israel will continue.”
Maira Butt17 January 2024 16:261705507219
US launches new airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen targeting ‘anti-ship missiles’
The US military carried out further airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday, targeting what it characterised as anti-ship ballistic missiles.
The action followed dozens of strikes against the Iran-backed rebels across Yemen in recent days as the US and UK seek to halt attacks by the group on cargo ships in the Red Sea, which were launched in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Two US officials told Reuters that Tuesday’s strikes were targeted at four anti-ship missiles.
US launches new airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen targeting ‘anti-ship missiles’
New strikes further raise tension in Red Sea amid fallout from Israeli war in Gaza
Tom Watling17 January 2024 16:001705505552
US military seizes Iranian missile parts bound for Houthi rebels in raid where 2 SEALs went missing
U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen‘s Houthi rebels in a raid last week that saw two of its commandos go missing, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
The raid marks the latest seizure by the U.S. Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks now threatening global trade in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The seized missile components included types likely used in those attacks.
US military seizes Iranian missile parts bound for Houthi rebels in raid where 2 SEALs went missing
U.S. Navy SEALs seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a raid last week that saw two of its commandos go missing
Tom Watling17 January 2024 15:321705503614
Qatar and France send medicine for hostages in Gaza as war rages on and regional tensions spike
A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas was en route to Gaza on Wednesday after France and Qatar mediated the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire broke down in November.
The medicines will be shipped through Egypt and delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which will then hand them over to Hamas. Qatar said the deal also includes the delivery of additional medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave.
Qatar and France send medicine for hostages in Gaza as war rages on and regional tensions spike
A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas is en route to Gaza
Tom Watling17 January 2024 15:001705501819
Mapped: How the US and UK attacks on Houthi rebels took place and what weapons were used?
After two months of continual Iran-backed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, the US and the UK have launched more than 100 strikes against the militant group’s positions across western Yemen.
Huge explosions were seen in Yemeni cities including Sana’a and Hodeidah in the early hours of 12 January, with the US military saying 60 strikes were launched against 16 sites linked to the Houthis’ military operations.
Below, The Independent looks at how the attacks unfolded and what weapons were used in the strikes.
How did the US and UK attacks on Houthi rebels happen and what weapons were used?
US and UK forces fired at least 100 guided missiles at Iran-backed Houthi positions across western Yemen
Tom Watling17 January 2024 14:301705500019
Here are some more details on the Iran strikes on Pakistan
Officials in Pakistan‘s southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Iran, have said that four missiles had hit the Panjgur district close to the Iranian border on Tuesday.
“Four missiles were fired in the village of Koh-i-Sabaz which is around 50 km inside Pakistan soil,” a senior official of the Panjgur administration told Reuters.
“A mosque and three houses were damaged in the attack,” another official said, adding that two young girls had been killed and three other family members injured.
Tom Watling17 January 2024 14:001705498219
Two Navy SEALs lost at sea were on mission targeting Houthi weapons shipment, says Pentagon
Two US Navy SEALs were lost at sea on a mission targeting Iranian weapons deliveries to Houthis in Yemen, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The night-time mission ended with the seizure of a small sailing boat that was transporting “advanced lethal aid” to the Yemeni rebel group as part of its “campaign of attacks against international merchant shipping,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The SEALs had been reported missing in the days following the mission, which took place on 11 January off the coast of Somalia, but its purpose had not been revealed. The two SEALs were still lost at sea as of Tuesday morning.
Two Navy SEALs lost at sea were on mission targeting Houthi weapons shipment
Pentagon had not previously disclosed nature of the mission SEALs were involved in
Tom Watling17 January 2024 13:301705495519
US national security adviser says stopping Houthi Red Sea attacks is an 'all hands on deck' problem
A senior White House official said Tuesday that addressing the ongoing threat by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the Red Sea is an “all hands on deck” problem that the U.S. and allies must address together to minimize impact on the global economy.
“How long this goes on and how bad it gets comes down not just to the decisions of the countries in the coalition that took strikes last week,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
US national security adviser says stopping Houthi Red Sea attacks is an 'all hands on deck' problem
A top White House official says the ongoing threat by Yemen's Houthi rebels to commercial vessels in the Red Sea was an “all hands on deck” problem that the U.S. and allies must address together to minimize impact on the global economy
Tom Watling17 January 2024 12:451705492819
Pope condemns Iran strike on Iraq, appeals against escalation
Pope Francis has condemned the Iranian missile attack on the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, and urged all parties to avoid an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East.
The strike has deepened worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, with Iran’s allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
“I express my closeness and solidarity with the victims, all civilians, of the missile attack that hit an urban area of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan,” Francis said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.
“Good relations between neighbours are not built with similar actions, but with dialogue and collaboration. I ask everyone to avoid any step that fuels tension in the Middle East and other war scenarios,” he added.
Francis called for prayers for the “many victims of war”, mentioning specifically Ukraine, Gaza and other Palestinian territory, and Israel.
Pope Francis has condemned the Iranian missile attack on the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq
(AP)
Tom Watling17 January 2024 12:001705491019
Pakistan recalls ambassador from Iran, bars Iranian envoy from returning to post
Pakistan has recalled its ambassador from Iran and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan who is visiting Iran will not be allowed to come back, Pakistan‘s foreign ministry spokesperson has said.
Tom Watling17 January 2024 11:30NewerOlder✕
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