US airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels kill at least two people, group says
An apparent U.S. strike Sunday hit a building in a western neighborhood of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, killing at least two people and wounding 13 others, the rebel-controlled SABA news agency said, citing health officials.
Footage released by the rebels showed the rubble of a collapsed building and pools of blood staining the gray dust covering the ground.
A building next to the collapsed structure still stood, suggesting American forces likely used a lower-yield warhead in the strike.
The Houthis also described American airstrikes targeting sites around the city of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, the Red Sea port city of Hodeida and Marib province, home to oil and gas fields still under the control of allies to Yemen's exiled central government. Those strikes continued into early Tuesday as the Houthis separately launched a missile attack on Israel.
The campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels, which killed at least 53 people immediately after they began March 15, started after the Houthis threatened to begin targeting “Israeli" ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels in the past have had a loose definition of what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted as well.
The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign targeting ships from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none have been hit so far.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
Advertising by Adpathway
