US launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi militant rebels in Yemen, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, citing the group’s attacks in the Red Sea.
“I have ordered the US military today to launch a decisive and powerful military operation against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” Trump posted on his Truth social media platform, adding that Washington “will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective”.
"Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies," Trump said, warning that the group’s "piracy, violence, and terrorism" had cost "billions of dollars" and put lives at risk.
The air strikes killed 31 people and injured 101 others, according to the latest statistics from the Houthi-run Health Ministry. Earlier, spokesperson for the ministry of health Anis al-Asbahi said that most of the casualties were “children and women”.
Houthi militants slammed the attack as “US-British aggression” and Washington’s “criminal brutality” and pledged to give a response.
“What the US president claims about a threat to international navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is false and misleading to international public opinion,” Houthi Spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said.
