ADEN: The Ansar Allah movement threatened a "strong and effective response" after the United States carried out another strike overnight, further ratcheting up tensions as Washington vows to protect shipping from attacks.
The strikes have added to concerns about the escalation of the conflict that has spread through the region since the Palestinian groups and Israel went to war, with allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
The latest strike, which the United States said hit a radar site, came a day after dozens of American and British strikes on Ansar Allah facilities in Yemen.
"This new strike will have a firm, strong and effective response," Nasruldeen Amer, the movement spokesperson said, adding there had been no injuries nor "material damages".
Mohammed Abdulsalam, another spokesperson, said that the strikes, including the one overnight that hit a military base in Sanaa, had no significant impact on the group's ability to prevent Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
The Yemeni group says their maritime campaign aims to support Palestinians under Israeli siege and attack in Gaza.
The group has also fired drones and missiles up the Red Sea at Israel itself.
The guided missile destroyer Carney used Tomahawk missiles in the follow-on strike early on Saturday local time "to degrade the groups's ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X.
In Sanaa, government employee Mohammed Samei said the attacks were an act of "brutal aggression" and marked a new stage of a war Yemen had endured.
Hussein Kabsi, a retired government employee, said supporting the Palestinians was a "religious and moral duty".
"Our stance is unwavering, we will (continue) to stand with our brothers in Palestine and Gaza until victory and until all Palestinian land is liberated - not just Gaza," he said.
On Friday, hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Sanaa, chanting slogans denouncing Israel and the United States, footage broadcast by Al-Masirah TV showed
U.S. President Joe Biden warned that he could order more strikes if they do not stop their attacks on merchant and military vessels in one of the world's most economically vital waterways.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said the initial strikes had targeted the ability to store, launch and guide missiles or drones, which the group has used to threaten shipping. He said Washington had no interest in a war with Yemen. It was said that five fighters were killed in the initial strikes. — Reuters
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