Fresh US airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels said to target airport, port
Media controlled by Iran-backed jihadists reports 13 strikes in the capital Sanaa and coastal city of Hodeida; no word of casualties, after 80 killed in Thursday strike
CAIRO — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Saturday that the US military launched a series of airstrikes on the capital, Sanaa, and the Houthi-held coastal city of Hodeida, less than two days after a US strike wrecked a Red Sea port and killed at least 80 people.
The Houthis’ media office said 13 US airstrikes hit an airport and a port in Hodeida, on the Red Sea. The office also reported US strikes in the capital, Sanaa.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it continues to conduct strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
Thursday’s strike hit the port of Ras Isa, also in Hodeida province, killing at least 80 people and wounding 171 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. It was the deadliest strike in the ongoing US bombing campaign against the Iranian-backed rebels.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday said he was “gravely concerned” about the attack on Ras Isa, as well as the Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel and the shipping routes, his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Saturday.
“The secretary-general recalls that international law, including international humanitarian law as applicable, must be respected at all times, and he appeals to all to respect and protect civilians as well as civilian infrastructure,” Dujarric said.
US Central Command declined to answer any questions about possible civilian casualties. It referred to a statement in which it said “this strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen.”
The strikes on Hodeida have been part of a monthlong US bombing campaign, which the Trump administration said came about because of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on its close ally, Israel.
About 200 people have been killed in the US campaign since March 16, according to the Houthis’ health ministry.
The Times of Israel Community.