Yemen’s Houthi rebels say at least two people were killed in overnight US airstrikes on the city of Saada, a Houthi stronghold.
The strikes wounded nine others, according to the rebel group’s al-Masirah satellite news channel, which aired footage showing a strike collapsing what appeared to be a two-story building. Al-Masirah showed no footage from inside the building, which they described as a solar power shop.
President Donald Trump has recently intensified a US campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. At least 69 people have been killed, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.
However, the Houthis have not acknowledged any casualties from their security and military leadership — something challenged after an online video posted by Trump.
Trump posts footage suggesting rebel leaders were bombed
Early Saturday, Trump posted what appeared to be black-and-white video from a drone of a group of over 70 people gathered in a circle. An explosion detonates during the 25-second video, with a massive crater left in its wake.
“These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack,” Trump claimed, without offering a location for the attack or any other details about the strike. “Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!”
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees America’s Middle East military operations, has not published the video, nor offered any specific details about the strikes it has conducted since 15 March. The White House has said there have been over 200 strikes so far targeting the Houthis.
US claims that Houthi rebel leaders were targeted in the strike were contested by the rebel-controlled SABA news agency, which said the bombing targeted “a social Eid visit in Hodeida governate.” Muslims across the world last week celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival at the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“Those present at that gathering had no connection to the operations carried out by the (Houthis), which are implementing the decision to ban navigation on ships linked to the American and Israeli enemy,” the SABA report said, adding that the attack killed and wounded “dozens.”
However, the Houthis previously have not acknowledged any strike on Hodeida during that time with such a high casualty count. The SABA report also did not describe those killed as civilians, suggesting they did have ties to the rebels’ security or military forces. Hodeida has been a site of Houthi attacks into the Red Sea.
The new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former US President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis 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 without success.
The campaign shows no signs of stopping as the Trump administration repeatedly has linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran, which backs the group, over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
