US airstrikes on Yemen kill at least one person and injure multiple others

US airstrikes continue to hit Houthi rebel positions across Yemen, with the group saying that an attack in the capital killed at least one person and injured at least a dozen others.

The strikes have been ongoing for 10 days, as part of a wider campaign by US President Donald Trump to target the Houthi rebels, who pose a threat to maritime trade routes and Israel, while also exerting pressure on Iran, the group’s main benefactor.

Details on the specific targets of the US airstrikes have not been disclosed, although Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz has claimed that key Houthi leaders have been taken out, including their top missile expert.

The Houthis have not confirmed this, although they have a history of downplaying their casualties while inflating claims about their attacks on US warships.

“We’ve hit their headquarters,” Waltz told US media on Sunday. “We’ve hit communications nodes, weapons factories and even some of their over-the-water drone production facilities.”

An apparent US strike on Sunday hit a building in a western neighbourhood of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killing at least one person and wounding 13 others, the rebel-controlled SABA news agency said, citing health officials.

The agency’s footage showed the destruction of the building, with bloodstains on the rubble-laden ground. A nearby building remained intact, suggesting that the US may have used a lower-yield warhead in the strike.

The Houthis have also reported US airstrikes targeting locations in and around Saada, a stronghold of the group, as well as Hodeida, a key Red Sea port city, and Marib province, home to oil and gas fields controlled by forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled government.

The US airstrike campaign — which has killed at least 53 people since its launch on 15 March — followed Houthi threats to resume targeting “Israeli” ships over Israel’s blockade of aid to Gaza. The Houthis have previously used a broad definition of “Israeli ships,” raising concerns that other vessels could be at risk.

Between November 2023 and January of this year, the Houthis had targeted more than 100 merchant vessels, sinking two and killing four sailors. They also launched attacks against US warships, although none have been successfully hit.

These escalating attacks have raised the profile of the Houthis, who have faced internal economic struggles and have cracked down on dissent and aid workers amid Yemen’s ongoing civil war, which has devastated the country for nearly a decade.