US retaliatory airstrikes updates: White House vows to take 'more action'

The round of airstrikes launched by the U.S. and U.K. on Saturday “further degraded the Houthis’ capability to continue their illegal and reckless attacks" against U.S. ships and international commercial vessels, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

"The U.S. does not want escalation, and these strikes are directly in response to the actions by the Iranian-backed Houthis," the senior administration official said. "They are unrelated to the action the United States took on Friday in response to the continued attacks on our troops and facilities in Iraq and Syria."

The official emphasizes that the U.S. has “rallied a global coalition” to condemn and hold the Houthis accountable, adding that this is the third round of strikes as part of the coalition that includes the U.S., UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, and now also Denmark and New Zealand.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

The U.S. and U.K. led a coalition of strikes against Houthis in Yemen focused on degrading the Houthis capabilities in shipping attacks, US officials say, stressing that the strikes are unrelated to strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria on Friday which were in response to the attack on U.S. troops in Jordan. Earlier reporting said the attacks on Yemen were in response to the attack on U.S. troops in Jordan.

While the timing may be coincidental, both the militia groups in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis are backed by Iran, U.S. officials say. But when asked if there was an intended message for Iran as well, the U.S. officials said they did not want to focus on Iran and instead kept the discussion about how each of the airstrikes was intended to deter and degrade Iran’s local proxies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin released a statement saying the strikes on Yemen aim to "disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia" from continuing to attack vessels in the Red Sea.

The strikes targeted Houthis' deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars, according to a statement from Austin.

"This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels," Austin said.

He added, "We will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways."

-ABC News' Nate Luna

The militaries of the U.S. and U.K. launched strikes against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand, the countries said in a joint statement Saturday.

The strikes targeted 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis' continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea, the statement said.

"These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda," the statement said.

-ABC News' Nate Luna