US strikes in Yemen: At least 31 killed as Trump vows to end Houthi attacks

The first US strikes against Yemen’s Houthis since President Donald Trump took office in January killed at least 31 people, the militant group said Sunday, as Washington warned Iran to stop backing the group.

A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 15, 2025. (Reuters)

The Houthis, who have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, said children were among those killed by the intense barrage of strikes.

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An AFP photographer in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa heard three explosions and saw plumes of smoke rising.

Attacks on 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,” Houthi health ministry spokesperson Anis al-Asbahi said in a statement.

Trump, in a post on social media, vowed to “use overwhelming lethal force” and ordered Iran to “immediately” cut its support to the militant group.

The Houthis, in their turn, 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.

‘Escalation with escalation’

“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Houthi’s political bureau said in a statement on their Al-Masirah TV station.

The Houthis, 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 at ships passing Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Houthis had “attacked US warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023.”

The campaign crippled the vital route, which normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies into a costly detour around southern Africa.

The Palestinian group Hamas, grateful for the Houthi support, hit out Saturday at the US strikes, branding them “a stark violation of international law and an assault on the country’s sovereignty and stability.”

The US has launched several rounds of strikes on Houthi targets, some with British support.

After halting their attacks when Gaza’s ceasefire took effect in January, the militant group announced on Tuesday it would resume them until Israel lifts its blockade of aid to the shattered Palestinian territory.

Trump’s statement did not reference the dispute over Israel, but focused on previous Houthi attacks on merchant shipping.

Earlier this month, the US reclassified the Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organization,” banning any US interaction with it.

With AFP

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