1 killed, several injured in fresh US airstrikes on Yemen's capital

Sanaa, April 17 (IANS) At least one person was killed and several others wounded when fresh US airstrikes targeted a residential neighbourhood and several other localities in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Houthi-run health authorities said in a statement.

The strikes targeted a house in the Al-Nahda neighbourhood in central Sanaa, residents told Xinhua on Wednesday, adding ambulances were seen heading to the scene, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported around 20 US airstrikes on several locations in and around Sanaa, including the Houthi-controlled Al-Hafa military site in Mount Nuqum and the districts of Bani Hashish, Nihm, and Manakha.

The roar of fighter jets and the sound of explosions were reportedly heard across the city.

On March 15, the US military resumed air attacks against the Houthi militia to deter it from attacking Israeli targets and US warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, said they would stop launching attacks if Israel stops its war in the Gaza Strip and allows the entry of essential food and medicine into the Palestinian enclave.

The Houthis separately claimed on Sunday night that they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen's Hajjah governorate, which sits to the northwest of the country on the Red Sea on the country's border with Saudi Arabia.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, described the shooting down in a pre-recorded video message as the fourth in two weeks by the rebels.

Saree said the rebels targeted the drone with "a locally manufactured missile".

The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of shooting down a aircraft.

Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shia Houthi rebels despite a United Nations arms embargo.

The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting "Israeli" ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip.

The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.

The US campaign shows no signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

--IANS

int/khz