Sana'a [Yemen], March 17: Yemen's Houthis have said they have retaliated after vowing to "meet escalation with escalation" following the United States air strikes against the group that killed at least 31 people on Saturday.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Sunday that the group targeted the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman and its warships with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone, state TV Al Masirah reported. The US has not yet responded to the Houthis' claim.
Houthi Health Ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi said Saturday's attacks targeted the capital, Sanaa, and areas in Saada, Al Bayda and Radaa, killing at least 31 people and wounding 101, "most of whom were children and women".
But after ordering the initial attacks, US President Donald Trump said he would use "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along the crucial maritime corridor in the Red Sea.
Cautious calm was prevailing on Sunday in the capital Sana'a and other areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, hours after a series of US airstrikes that the Iranian-aligned militia said left at least 31 civilians dead.
US President Donald Trump ordered massive attacks on Saturday on the Houthis in several Yemeni provinces including Sana'a and the militia's stronghold of Sa'ada in the far north of the war-torn country.
The bombing also hit the area of al-Jiraf north of Sana'a where many Houthi leaders live, locals said. So far, there have been no confirmed deaths among them.
Houthi leaders have been advised against appearing in public places, sources close to the group said. The militia had earlier issued a notice to government institutions under its control ordering workers not to share any information publicly about the locations of the Houthi leaders or their movements for security reasons.
The Saudi-owned television channel Al Arabiya reported that some Houthi leaders had left Sana'a for Sa'ada and the Amran province in north-western Yemen on safety grounds. Some residents of the stricken areas recalled the horror they experienced during the US bombardment.
"We have been living through terrifying moments over the past few hours due to the violent US bombing, which shattered some of the windows in my house," Mohammed Amer, a resident of the Attan neighbourhood in Sana'a, told DPA.
He added that the strikes resulted in damage to houses and stores. Attan is a military zone surrounded by several residential districts.
A spokesman for the Houthi-run Ministry of Health told DPA that the strikes had killed 31 civilians and injured 101 others. The Houthis' ruling Supreme Political Council condemned the strikes and vowed a "professional and painful punishment."
Trump said the airstrikes targeted Houthi bases, leaders and missile defence sites in order to protect US shipping in the region and restore freedom of navigation.
Since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked Israel and international merchant ships in support of its ally, the Palestinian Hamas organization. In response, Israel, the United States and Britain have repeatedly attacked Houthi targets in Yemen.
Source: Qatar Tribune
