YEMEN’S Houthi-led government today vowed to retaliate against US and British strikes, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza.

The bombardment in the early hours of this morning, launched in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, killed at least five people and wounded six, the Yemenis said.

Since November, the Yemenis have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they wanted to see a halt to Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas. 

Saudi Arabia, which supports the government-in-exile that the Houthis are fighting, quickly sought to distance itself from the attacks as it seeks to maintain a delicate detente with Iran and a ceasefire it has in Yemen.

Yemeni military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a recorded address that the strikes would “not go unanswered or unpunished.”

He said that the US and British strikes killed five and wounded six.

It remained unclear how extensive the damage was, though the Yemenis said at least five sites, including airfields, had been attacked.

The British said that strikes hit a site in Bani, allegedly used by the Yemenis to launch drones, and an airfield in Abbs used to launch cruise missiles and drones.

Foreign Ministry official Hussein al-Ezz said: “The US and Britain will undoubtedly have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression.”

The attacks also received international condemnation.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “We strongly condemn these irresponsible actions by the US and its allies.

“A large-scale military escalation in the Red Sea region could strike out the positive trends that have emerged recently in the Yemeni settlement process, as well as provoke a destabilisation of the situation throughout the Middle East.”

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan furiously slammed the strikes, accusing the US and Britain of turning the Red Sea into a “sea of blood.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called on nations not to escalate tensions in the Red Sea.

Oman, long a regional go-between for the US and the West with Iran, condemned the air strikes. 

It called the attack a “great concern while Israel continued its brutal war and siege of the Gaza Strip without accountability or punishment.”

The Red Sea route is a crucial waterway, and attacks there have caused severe disruptions to global trade.