US says airstrikes are intended to deter rebel group from attacking Red Sea shipping
US and Iran-backed Houthis vow escalation after deadly American airstrikes on Yemen
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The US and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen are both vowing escalation after the US launched a wave of deadly airstrikes on Saturday with the stated aim of deterring the rebel group from attacking Red Sea shipping.
Updating an earlier death toll, Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anis al-Asbahi said 53 people had been killed including “five children and two women”, and that 98 people had been injured.
The airstrikes hit in the capital of Sanaa and other provinces, including Saada, the Houthi rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia.
Houthi rebels claimed on Monday to have twice attacked an American aircraft carrier group within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for the deadly US airstrikes.
The Houthis initially said they launched 18 missiles and a drone at the “aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships” in the Red Sea, before hours later claiming to have fired a second round.
