US and UK forces conduct joint military operation in Yemen, Britain says

By Kanishka Singh and Gnaneshwar Rajan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. and British forces conducted a joint military operation in Yemen on Tuesday, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, which said the operation was against a Houthi military target responsible for making drones like those used to attack shipping.

President Donald Trump ordered the intensification of U.S. strikes on Yemen last month, with his administration saying it will continue assaulting Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping. Britain and the U.S. have also previously conducted joint operations and strikes in Yemen.

The British statement said intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings located some 15 miles (24 km) south of Yemen's capital Sanaa that were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. It did not mention details about any casualties.

The strike was conducted after dark, when the likelihood of any civilians being in the area was reduced, the British statement said, adding that its aircraft returned safely. There was no immediate U.S. military comment.

Houthi-controlled television said on Monday a U.S. airstrike killed 68 people after striking a detention centre for African migrants in Yemen. A U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday the U.S. military was aware of claims of civilian casualties and was conducting its assessment.

Recent U.S. strikes have killed dozens, including 74 at an oil terminal in mid-April in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under Trump so far, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

Rights advocates have raised concerns about civilian killings.

The U.S. military said over the weekend it has struck over 800 targets since mid-March that it says killed numerous of Houthi fighters and leaders while destroying the militant group's facilities.

The Houthis have taken control of swathes of Yemen over the past decade.

Since November 2023, they have launched attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel.

They say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza where Israel's war has killed over 52,000, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israel.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Lincoln Feast.)