“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”
He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy. It comes two weeks after the U.S. leader sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran’s advancing nuclear weapons program. Trump has said he will not allow it to become operational.
The Houthis reported explosions in their territory Saturday evening, in Sanaa and the northern province of Saada, the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia. Images online showed plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.
At least 13 people were killed, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry. In a statement on social media, he said another nine were wounded.
A U.S. official said this was the beginning of air strikes on Houthi targets that are expected to continue. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, said the airstrikes won’t deter them and they would retaliate against the U.S. “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” he added on social media.
Another spokesman, Mohamed Abdulsalam, on X, called Trump’s claims that the Houthis threaten international shipping routes “false and misleading.”
The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attackson Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s latest blockade on Gaza. They described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.
The Houthi media office said the U.S. strikes hit a residential neighborhood in Sanaa’s northern district of Shouab. Residents said at least four airstrikes rocked the Eastern Geraf neighborhood there, terrifying women and children.
“The explosions were very strong,” said Abdallah al-Alffi. “It was like an earthquake.”
Yemen’s Houthi rebels say that US strikes have killed at least 15 people, including children, after President Donald Trump announced an attack on the Iran-backed group.
The Houthi’s Ansarallah media raises an earlier death toll of nine, reporting strikes hitting the capital Sanaa as well as the northern Saada region.
U.S. Strikes Houthis In Message To Iran
Stefan J. Bos
The U.S. military struck Houthi targets in Yemen late Saturday “in a message to Iran” at a time when the U.S. administration is proposing to open negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program, U.S. and Israeli sources say.
The air and naval strikes hit the Iran-backed Houthis’ radars, air defenses, and missile and drone systems. Witnesses said dust was seen over Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, after the strikes.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform, “Today, I have ordered the United States military to launch decisive and powerful military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American and other ships, aircraft, and drones.”
1 comment:
I will tiptoe through this comment - has Congress authorized POTUS to launch military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen?
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