US Launches Airstrikes on Yemen, 31 Killed

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Mar 16: At least 31 people were killed as the United States launched a series of airstrikes on Yemen to make the waterways free of attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on shipping along the vital maritime corridor, citing the armed group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea as the reason.

The Yemen health ministry said on Sunday that the attacks on the rebel-held capital Sanaa, as well as on areas in Saada, Al Bayda and Radaa killed 31 people and wounded 101, “most of whom were children and women,” Ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi posted on X.

The US President Donald Trump had earlier said he had ordered a series of airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.

“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defences to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Mr 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. The Houthis warned that the strikes “will not pass without response,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the deaths and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate its foreign policy. “End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism,” he posted on X on Sunday. “Stop killing of Yemeni people.”

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which posted images of fighters and a bomb demolishing a building compound, said “precision strikes” were launched to “defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.” A U.S. official said this was the beginning of air strikes on Houthi targets that are expected to continue.

Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform, adding that their “piracy, violence, and terrorism” had cost “billions of dollars” and put lives at risk. These attacks, Trump said, “will not be tolerated.” He added: “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”

The group – which began targeting shipping in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza – said its forces would respond to US strikes. The Houthis reported a series of explosions on Saturday evening in Sanaa and in the northern province of Saada – the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian-backed rebel group, which considers Israel its enemy, controls Sanaa and the north-west of Yemen, but it is not the country’s internationally-recognised government. Unverified images show plumes of black smoke over the area of Sanaa’s airport – which includes a military facility.

In a statement, the Houthis blamed the US and the UK for “wicked” aggression targeting residential areas in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The UK did not participate in Saturday’s US strikes against the Houthi targets but it did provide routine refuelling support for the US.

The Houthis have said they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed – often falsely – that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and killed four crew members. The group has not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels, or by multiple rounds of US and British air strikes on its military targets.

Israel has also carried out air strikes against the Houthis since July in retaliation for the 400 missiles and drones that the Israeli military said had been launched at the country from Yemen, most of which were shot down. Major shipping companies have been forced to stop using the Red Sea – through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes – and use a much longer route around southern Africa instead.

Trump said it had been more than a year since a US-flagged ship had sailed safely through the Suez Canal – which the Red Sea leads to – and four months since a US warship had been through the body of water between east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Suez Canal is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe, and is particularly important in the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed military deterrence operations against the Houthis when he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday. Rubio emphasised that “continued Houthi attacks on US military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated”, a State Department spokesperson said.

Lavrov, for his part, stressed the need for “an immediate cessation of the use of force” and the “importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue in order to find a solution that would prevent further bloodshed”, said the Russian foreign ministry.

The Houthis launched 190 attacks in the Red Sea between November 2023 and October 2024, according to the US Congress. Previously, the UK and US conducted joint naval and airstrikes against the group. Israel has also targeted sites linked to the Houthis in separate strikes.

Trump urged Iran to cease its support for the Houthis, warning that Washington would hold Tehran “fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it.” He also accused the previous White House administration, under Joe Biden, of being “pathetically weak” and allowing the “unrestrained Houthis” to keep going.

Hezbollah condemned on Sunday large-scale military strikes by the U.S. against Yemen. Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. strikes saying they violated international law. Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei “strongly condemned the brutal air strikes by the US” in a statement, denouncing them a “gross violation of the principles of the U.N. Charter.”

Yemenis recounted their panic and terror as the first U.S. attacks under President Donald Trump struck rebel-held areas. A “horrific explosion” rocked the capital, Sanaa, late on Saturday during suhoor, the night-time meal during the holy month of Ramadan, one resident said.

“The house shook, the windows shattered, and my family and I were terrified,” said Ahmed. “I’ve been living in Sanaa for 10 years, hearing shelling throughout the war. By God, I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

Iran once again denied aiding Yemen’s Houthi rebels after Trump warned that Tehran would be held “fully accountable” for their actions. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international shipping in the Red Sea and launched missiles and drones at Israel in what the rebels said were acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally. The attacks stopped when a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire took hold in Gaza in January, but the Houthis had threatened to renew them after Israel cut off the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza this month.