Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, the Iran-backed Huthis have carried out a spate of attacks in the Red Sea, claiming to be targeting ships with Israeli links in solidarity with the Palestinians.
After repeatedly warning there would be consequences if the attacks continued, US and British forces struck 60 targets at 16 Huthi locations early Friday in what they said was a bid to prevent further disruption to the vital shipping lane.
The Huthis have been steadily developing their military capabilities since 2014, when they seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
Their arsenal of weapons made with Iranian equipment or components includes ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, according to defence experts.
- Ballistic missiles -
That includes ballistic missiles the Huthis call Typhoon -- a rebranded version of the Iranian Qadr missile with a range of 1,600 to 1,900 kilometres (995 to 1,180 miles), according to Fabian Hinz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
"It is very inaccurate, at least in the version they've shown us, but it should be able to reach Israel," Hinz told AFP.
Iran carried out tests of its Qadr missiles in 2016, hitting targets about 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) away.
Mohammed Albasha, senior Middle East analyst for the US-based Navanti Group, said the Huthis unveiled their Typhoon missile arsenal only weeks before the unprecedented October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.
The rebels, who control much of north Yemen, also have Iran's Quds cruise missile, according to Hinz.
There are different versions of the Quds, some of which have a range of about 1,650 kilometres - enough to reach Israel, he said.
In 2022, the Huthis said they used Quds 2 cruise missiles to hit oil facilities in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The powered, guided missiles traversed more than 1,126 kilometres from northern Yemen.
The Huthis also used the Quds 2 missile in 2020 to strike facilities in Saudi Arabia.
- Drones -
Saudi Arabia and the United States have repeatedly accused Iran of supplying the Huthis with drones, missiles and other weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
The Huthis say they manufacture their drones domestically, although analysts say they contain smuggled Iranian components.
Their arsenal also includes the Iranian Shahed-136 drones that Russia is using in its war on Ukraine, according to Hinz.
They have a range of about 2,000 kilometres, Hinz said.
Another drone model, the Samad-3, is also available to them, according to Hinz.
"We don't know the exact range, but it should be about 1,600 kilometres," he said.
The Huthis have used the Samad-3 drones in attacks on the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The Samad-3 can be fitted with 18 kilogrammes (40 pounds) of explosives, according to rebel media sources and analysts.
The Huthis' drones use GPS guidance and "fly autonomously along pre-programmed waypoints" towards their targets, experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a 2020 report.
Four things to know about Yemen's Huthi rebels
Dubai (AFP) Jan 12, 2024 -
The United States and Britain carried out air strikes early Friday against Huthi rebels in Yemen accused of threatening international shipping in the Red Sea.
Here are four things to know about the rebels:
- Iranian support -
The Huthis are supported by Iran, a major regional power and sworn enemy of Israel.
They are members of the Tehran-backed "axis of resistance", which brings together various anti-Israel organisations in the region, including Palestinian Hamas militants and Lebanon's Hezbollah, as well as diverse groups in Iraq and Syria.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, the Huthis have launched numerous attacks against commercial shipping they say is linked to Israel, in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The United States, which has deployed warships to the Red Sea and brought together an international coalition to secure the internationally vital shipping lane, has accused Iran of supporting and encouraging the attacks. Tehran denies the accusation.
- Military strength -
The group's military strength was estimated several years ago at around 200,000 fighters, a force which is well-trained and accustomed to combat in Yemen's arid and mountainous terrain.
After taking control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, the Huthis seized vast swathes of the country, in particular in the north.
Their long-distance missiles and drones, developed using Iranian technology, according to their opponents, are considered a serious menace by neighbouring countries in the Gulf.
The Huthis have previously carried out attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both members of a coalition that supported the Yemeni government against the Huthis since 2015.
However, until now, they had not intervened in conflicts not involving Yemen.
Having fought against the Huthis for more than eight years, Riyadh began peace talks with the group last year in the hope of bringing to an end a conflict that has devastated one of the world's poorest countries.
Fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.
- Popularity -
Despite thousands of its fighters being killed, the Huthis continue to attract young recruits in a country of about 30 million people struggling with one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.
The civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people directly or indirectly and left millions on the edge of famine, according to the United Nations.
By claiming to carry out attacks on vessels in the Red Sea linked to Israel and the US in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, the Huthis have gained global visibility and rallied their popular base both in Yemen and across the region, experts say.
- Shiite minority origins -
Originating in the north of Yemen, the Huthis were founded as a movement in the 1990s to fight the alleged marginalisation of their minority Zaidi community, a branch of Shiite Islam, in the majority Sunni country.
The Zaidis reached their apogee in the north of Yemen with the creation of an "imamate" (a political regime run by an imam) in the 9th century, which survived until the mid-20th century.
In the territory under their control, the Huthis have imposed an extremely strict social and religious rules which target women in particular.
Timeline of Yemen's brutal civil war
Paris (AFP) Jan 12, 2024 -
Iranian-backed Huthi rebels targeted early Friday by US and British air strikes have been fighting Yemen's Saudi-backed government since 2014, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Here is a timeline of the fighting, which had eased since a 2022 truce but now risks flaring up again in a wider Middle East conflagration which may be fuelled by the Israel-Hamas war:
- 2014: rebels take capital -
In July 2014, Huthi rebels from the Zaidi sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that complains of discrimination by the central government, advance from their stronghold in the northern mountains.
The Iran-backed Huthis ally themselves with forces loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was toppled in a 2011 uprising, and seize the capital Sanaa and, later, the Red Sea port of Hodeida.
- 2015: Saudi enters war -
A coalition led by Iran's bitter enemy Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates enters the conflict in March with air strikes targeting the rebels.
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi flees first to the southern city of Aden, which the rebels try but fail to take, then to Saudi Arabia.
In October, the Saudi-led coalition forces take control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, one of the world's most strategic waterways.
- 2018: battle for key port -
In June, government fighters backed by coalition ground forces launch an offensive to retake Hodeida, a major entry point for humanitarian aid.
- 2019: Saudi oil hit -
In September, the Huthis carry out drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil fields, halving the kingdom's crude output.
- 2021: US outreach to Huthis -
In February, the US ends its support for the Saudi-led coalition's military operations and removes the Huthis from a "terrorist" list to try encourage the Huthis to enter peace talks.
- 2022: six-month truce -
In early 2022, the Huthis attack oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia but momentum builds towards a truce.
A UN-brokered ceasefire starts on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on April 2.
Renewed twice, it expires in October but largely holds.
- 2023: Saudi-Iran detente -
In a surprise Chinese-brokered move, Iran and Saudi Arabia agree in March to restore ties seven years after they were severed.
The rapprochement sparks hope for a lasting peace in Yemen, where the Huthis and the government agree a prisoner swap.
In September, the rebels take part in five days of talks with Saudi Arabia in Riyadh but fail to reach a breakthrough on ending the war.
- Red Sea ships under attack -
In November, the Huthis begin attacking vessels crossing the Red Sea and linked to Israel. They say the attacks are in retaliation for Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian group stormed across the border on October 7 in an unprecedented attack which left 1,140 dead in southern Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Relentless Israeli bombardment of Gaza since October has left more than 23,400 people dead.
On November 19, the rebels seize a vessel owned by an Israeli businessman and divert it to Hodeida.
Over the next two months they target numerous vessels passing through the Red Sea, a gateway to the Suez Canal -- the quickest shipping link between Europe and Asia.
In December, the US sets up an international naval coalition to defend against the attacks.
- January 2024: US, Uk strikes on Yemen -
On January 9, the Huthis launch a major barrage of drones and missiles towards international shipping lanes.
Britain says "enough is enough".
On January 12, US and British forces carry out air strikes on 60 targets at 16 Huthi locations in several rebel-held Yemeni cities, including an airbase, airports and a military camp.
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