DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Suspected US airstrikes pummeled sites across Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels early Friday, including neighborhoods in the capital, Sanaa.
The extent of the damage and possible casualties wasn’t immediately clear, though the number of strikes appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15.
An Associated Press review has found the new American operation under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the US moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.
Initial reports from the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency indicated that only one person was injured during the attacks Friday in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital that the rebels have held since 2014. Other strikes hit around the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, the rebel’s stronghold of Saada and in Yemen’s al-Jawf and Amran governorates.
The Houthis did not immediately confirm which sites had been struck, apart from Sanaa International Airport, which is used for both civilian and military traffic. Neighbourhoods in the capital also host military and intelligence service facilities — alongside being populated by civilians.
Other areas hit included mountainous terrain north of Sanaa, where military camps and other installations are believed to be. The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news network described communication networks going down after the attacks.
The US military’s Central Command, which now has authority from the White House to strike offensively in Yemen without pre-approval, did not immediately acknowledge conducting any strikes. The command, which under Biden offered details on individual strikes, has not provided that information in this campaign.
The campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels, which killed at least 57 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.
From November 2023 to January of this year, the Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign targeting ships. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none have been hit thus far.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and initiated a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers domestically amid Yemen’s prolonged, stagnant conflict that has devastated the Arab world’s most impoverished nation.
