US airstrikes said to kill at least 6 in Yemen; Houthis claim to down American drone
Group says 26 injured in overnight bombings, over 120 people have been killed in US strikes over attacks on shipping
Suspected US airstrikes around Yemen’s rebel-held capital killed at least six people and wounded 26 overnight, the Iran-backed Houthis said Monday, as they also claimed shooting down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Since its start nearly a month ago, the intense campaign of US airstrikes under President Donald Trump targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters has killed over 120 people, according to casualty figures released Monday by the Houthis’ Health Ministry.
Footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being sparked by the airstrikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the rebels claimed was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15.
The American military also hasn’t been providing any information on targets hit. The White House has said over 200 strikes have been conducted so far.
The Houthis began their attacks in support of Palestinian terror group Hamas, which, on October 7, 2023, invaded southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages to Gaza, triggering the ongoing war there.
U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) prepare ordnance for operations against Iran-backed Houthis… #HouthisAreTerrorists pic.twitter.com/2zqhUqHlGn
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 14, 2025
The Houthis have targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, apparently without success.
The Iran-backed group has also launched ballistic missiles and drones directly at Israel.
On Sunday, air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired at Israel by the Houthis. The Houthis claimed to have fired two missiles in the attack, one targeting the Sdot Micha Airbase — where, according to foreign reports, Israel holds nuclear-capable Jericho missiles — and the other aimed at Ben Gurion Airport.
The Israel Defense Forces reported that only one missile reached Israel and was successfully intercepted by air defenses. The second likely fell short, similar to numerous other recent Houthi attacks.
There were no injuries or major damage in the missile attack, though shrapnel from the interception reportedly fell in the Hebron area in the West Bank. Sirens sounded across central Israel, Jerusalem, and in some West Bank settlements.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have launched more than 20 ballistic missiles and several drones at Israel.
Houthis claim another US drone shot down
The Houthis separately claimed Sunday night they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen’s Hajjah governorate, which sits to the northwest of the country on the Red Sea on the country’s border with Saudi Arabia.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, described the downing in a prerecorded video message as the fourth in two weeks by the rebels. Saree said the rebels targeted the drone with “a locally manufactured missile.” The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.
Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi rebels despite a United Nations arms embargo.
General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and remain in the air for over 30 hours. They have been flown by both the US military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.
Central Command said it was aware of “reports” of the drone being shot down but did not elaborate.
The Times of Israel Community.