US President Donald Trump launches airstrike on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen

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US President Donald Trump launched a sequence of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, promising to make use of “overwhelming deadly power” till Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease attacking ships in a significant maritime hall. 9 civilians have been killed, based on the Houthis.

In a social media put up, Trump stated, “Our courageous Warfighters are proper now finishing up aerial assaults on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to guard American transport, air, and naval property, and to revive Navigational Freedom,” including, “No terrorist power will cease American business and naval vessels from freely crusing the Waterways of the World.”

He additionally warned Iran in opposition to supporting the insurgent group, vowing to carry the nation “absolutely accountable” for its proxy’s actions. The warning comes two weeks after Trump despatched a letter to Iranian leaders providing a path to restart bilateral talks on Iran’s advancing nuclear weapons program, one thing he has vowed to not let develop into operational.

The airstrikes observe a latest Houthi declaration that they’d resume assaults on Israeli vessels in response to Israel’s blockade of Gaza. No Houthi assaults have been reported since that assertion.

The Houthis reported a sequence of explosions of their territory Saturday night. Residents stated not less than 4 airstrikes struck the Jap Geraf neighborhood, the place terrified households have been caught within the blasts.

Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media workplace, insisted the airstrikes wouldn’t deter the group, vowing retaliation in opposition to the U.S. “Sanaa will stay Gaza’s defend and assist and won’t abandon it irrespective of the challenges,” he wrote on social media.

Whereas the US, Israel, and Britain have beforehand launched strikes on Houthi-controlled areas, Israel’s navy declined to touch upon Saturday’s operation.

A US official confirmed that the strikes have been carried out solely by American forces, the primary such operation beneath Trump’s second administration, following a interval of relative calm within the area.