Houthi attacks: British fighter jets to protect Saudi Arabia's cities
Britain is sending Typhoon jets on defensive missions over Saudi Arabia and says it will not strike the Houthis. Riyadh intercepted another missile, and the death toll in Yemen rose to 73.
Archive image · Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Britain's air force is to fly defensive patrols over Saudi Arabia. Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets will protect the kingdom's cities and infrastructure against attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia, the Ministry of Defence in London said on Tuesday. The jets "will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis", it said. According to ABC News, they will be supported by an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the Houthi attacks "despicable".
Saudi forces again intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the capital Riyadh, according to their spokesman Turki al-Maliki. The death toll from the Houthi missile strike on a military camp in Yemen rose to 73, CBS News reported. A US security alert issued on 19 October urged Americans to "exercise heightened vigilance". "We are actively warning U.S. citizens about the very real threat the Houthis pose," Edgar Vasquez, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for press, told CBS News.