1 killed, 15 wounded in US airstrike on Yemen’s capital

Sanaa:  At least one person was killed and 15 others wounded in a US airstrike targeting a residential building in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

A preliminary toll showed that “three children and two women” were among the injured due to the strike that took place in Asr, the western suburb of Sanaa, the television said o Sunday, citing a source from the Houthi-controlled health authorities.

Local residents described the strike as “very violent,” noting that rescue teams were still searching for possible survivors under the rubble, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US military has yet to issue a comment.

Hours earlier, the TV channel reported that the US military stationed in the Red Sea conducted fresh airstrikes on Yemen’s northern province of Saada, targeting the areas around the province’s namesake central city, a stronghold of the Houthis, without providing further details.

The airstrikes came a few hours after the Houthis claimed to have launched fresh attacks on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the northern Red Sea and the Ben Gurion airport in central Israel, with the latter attack reportedly intercepted by the Israeli army.

Earlier in the day, the US military launched a series of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas, including the airport in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, according to al-Masirah TV. There were no reports of casualties.

The exchanges of fire took place amid an ongoing air campaign launched by US forces in mid-March against Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen.

The Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen after the onset of a civil war in 2014, has vowed to continue striking Israeli targets in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and to respond to what it describes as “American aggression”.

US President Donald Trump justified the strikes, claiming Houthis had attacked US ships and disrupted international shipping and trade in the Red Sea.

The President ordered a “decisive and forceful military action”, further adding that the US would use “overwhelming and deadly force” to deter further attacks on the freedom of navigation.

–IANS