US-led airstrikes on Yemen killed five people and wounded six

RAF Typhoon FGR4 taking off from RAF Akrotiri to conduct strikes against military targets in Yemen. Picture: Ministry of Defence/PA Wire

US-led airstrikes on Yemen killed at least five people and wounded six others, a military spokesman from the Houthi rebels has said.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree made the announcement in a videotaped address on Friday.

“The American and British enemy bears full responsibility for its criminal aggression against our Yemeni people and it will not go unanswered and unpunished,” he said.

He described 73 strikes hitting five regions of Yemen under Houthi control.

He did not elaborate on what the US-led strikes targeted.

Some major shipping lines and oil giant BP have already diverted vessels around southern Africa, adding time and costs to journeys, rather than risk the Red Sea.

If the crisis continues, the increased costs could be passed on to consumers, hampering efforts to curb inflation and reduce interest rates.

US Central Command said the Houthis had launched a “complex attack”, and a total of 18 attack drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down in the operation which involved Diamond, US warships and F/A-18 fighter jets.

It said the attack was the 26th Houthi attack on the Red Sea shipping lanes since November 19.