The first US strikes against Yemen’s Houthis since US President Donald Trump took office killed 31 people, the rebels said yesterday, with the US president warning “hell will rain down upon” the Iran-backed group if it did not stop attacking shipping.
The Houthis, who have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, said children were among those killed.
Trump, in a post on social media, vowed to “use overwhelming lethal force” to end the Houthi attacks, which the rebels say are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war.
Photo: Reuters
“To all Huthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” he wrote.
Trump also issued a stern warning to the group’s main backer.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY!” he said, adding: “Do NOT threaten the American People, their President... or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”
Photo: Reuters
The Houthi vowed the strikes “will not pass without response,” while Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi condemned the deaths and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate Tehran’s foreign policy.
The Houthi Ansarullah Web site slammed what it called Washington’s “criminal brutality.”
US Central Command, which posted videos of fighter jets taking off and a bomb demolishing a compound, said “precision strikes” were launched to “defend American interests, deter enemies and restore freedom of navigation.”
“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Houthi political bureau said.
The rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the US.
They have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Houthi had “attacked US warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023.”
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