Biden plans sustained attacks against the Houthis

THE BIDEN administration is reportedly drawing up plans for “sustained” military action in Yemen against the Houthis after US strikes failed to stop rebel attacks on ships.

US fighter jets have repeatedly struck Houthi sites over the past 10 days, with the latest on Saturday taking out an anti-ship missile that was preparing to fire, according to the US military.

Despite the operations to destroy their radars, missiles and drones, the Iran-backed group, which has almost a decade of experience hiding its weapons from Western-backed Saudi air strikes, has vowed to fight on.

It is framing their attacks as an act of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza.

The Washington Post said on Saturday that the White House had convened senior officials to discuss ways it could evolve its response to the attacks. No further details have been released.

Earlier this week President Joe Biden conceded the attacks would continue as they had failed to deter the Houthis from their campaign.

“Are they stopping the Houthis? No,” Mr Biden told reporters this week. “Are they going to continue? Yes.”

US officials do not expect the campaign to stretch on for years, as in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, according to the newspaper, but they could not estimate when it might end.

However, others in the administration fear the US will end up entangled in yet another open-ended Middle Eastern conflict without an exit strategy.

Britain joined the US in carrying out reprisal attacks on Houthi targets earlier this month. Though it has struck a more cautious tone since on its approach to future strikes, it has not ruled out further action.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK will not accept the Red Sea being permanently closed.

Yesterday the Ministry of Defence said it would spend £405million to upgrade a missile system now being used by the Royal Navy to shoot down hostile drones over the Red Sea.