Britain’s military carried out a joint operation with U.S. forces against the Houthi militia in Yemen, officials said on Wednesday, in the first such strike since President Trump re-entered the White House and stepped up attacks on the Iran-backed group.
There was no immediate comment from the American military about the operation, which the British Defense Ministry said early Wednesday was carried out overnight “to degrade Houthi capabilities and prevent further attacks against U.K. and international shipping.”
Typhoon jets using precision guided bombs took part in the mission, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the strike took place “after dark” to minimize the risk to civilians. The target was “a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some 15 miles south of Sana,” the statement added, referring to the Yemeni capital.
Speaking in Parliament, the British defense secretary, John Healey, said that the planned targets “were all successfully hit and we have seen no evidence of civilian casualties.”
The joint operation on Tuesday came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about a U.S. mission in Yemen, raising questions about operational security and whether American allies would be deterred from further participation.
On Wednesday, Helen Maguire, who speaks for Britain’s centrist Liberal Democrats on defense issues, asked for assurances that security was not compromised by the United States. Mr. Healey answered, “Our own U.K. intelligence, our own U.K. communications systems remain secure.”
In leaked Signal messages, Mr. Hegseth strongly criticized European nations, describing them as “freeloading” and “pathetic.” At the time, Mr. Healey characterized the comments as a “challenge” rather than an insult, adding that on military spending “the Americans have got a case.”
Since the fall of 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in a campaign that they say is in solidarity with Palestinians under bombardment in Gaza.
Britain had taken part in joint strikes on Houthi targets ordered under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., which began in January 2024. Mr. Healey said that Tuesday’s operation was the first time the British had struck the group’s positions since May of last year.
In March, Mr. Trump ordered an intensified campaign, which U.S. officials have called “Operation Rough Rider.” American forces have since then struck more than 800 targets, the U.S. military said on Sunday.
On Wednesday Mr. Healey said that Britain was with its “closest security ally,” at a time when the United States was stepping up its military activities in the Red Sea. He argued that disruption to global shipping caused by the Houthis was damaging the British economy as well as destabilizing the region.
“Make no mistake the Houthis act as an agent of instability across the region, they continue to receive backing from Iran both military and financial, and even Russia has attempted to support the Houthi operations,” he told lawmakers.
Recent U.S. strikes had destroyed multiple Houthi command and control centers, air defense systems and advanced weapons manufacturing and storage sites, Mr. Healey added, citing American claims that ballistic missile launches had dropped by 69 percent and drone attacks by 55 percent.
