"In response to continued illegal and reckless Houthi attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, conducted additional strikes against eight targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," a joint statement issued by the British prime minister's office said.

"These strikes were designed to disrupt and degrade the capability of the Houthis to continue their attacks on global trade and innocent mariners from around the world, while avoiding escalation."

(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; Editing by Leslie Adler)