Airstrikes launched on several parts of Yemen, Houthi Al Masirah TV says

(Reuters) -Airstrikes were launched on Friday at several parts of Yemen including its capital Sanaa and Hodeidah airport, Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement controlling much of Yemen, and residents said.

Strikes also targeted the south of Dhamar city and the southeast of al-Bayda province, the channel added.

Residents said that the attack on al-Bayda province targeted several Houthi military outposts.

Al Masirah TV reported that the strikes had been carried out by the United States and British forces, but a British government source said Britain was not involved.

Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas.

The attacks have drawn U.S. and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

Following the airstrikes, a Houthi spokesman called the attack “a desperate attempt”, adding that “Yemen will not be deterred by these attacks and will continue its steadfastness in confronting the enemies”.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Enas Alashray and Nayera Abdallah; Additional Reporting by Alistair Smout in London and Adam Makary in Cairo; Editing by Alex Richardson and Kevin Liffey, Kirsten Donvan)