Two killed in strikes on Yemeni capital as US maintains pressure on Houthis

Sanaa hit in latest attacks after President Donald Trump says Iran-backed group 'wants peace'

Smoke rises from the site of US air strikes in Sanaa. The large-scale offensive against Houthis began on March 15. AP

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Two people were killed and two injured in US air strikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, media affiliated with the Houthi rebels reported on Thursday morning.

The US began a large-scale military offensive against the Iran-backed group on March 15, vowing to use overwhelming force to halt Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes. At least 53 people, including five children and two women, were killed in the campaign's initial strikes.

The latest attacks struck Al Arqoub area, in the Khawlan district of Sanaa, Saba reported. It added that at least four attacks had been launched on the Yemeni capital.

The Houthis also reported US strikes on the city of Saada, a rebel stronghold. A day before, the group said renewed US attacks had hit Sanaa, after 19 strikes were reported elsewhere in Yemen.

"A series of strikes by the US aggression have hit the south and north of the capital," Al Masirah channel said, without providing further details. Saba said "the American aggression targeted the Oncology Hospital building in Saada".

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the Houthis “want peace” after more than a week of strikes, which he described as “very, very strong".

“The Houthis are looking to do something. They want to know, ‘How do we stop? How do we stop? How can we have peace?' The Houthis want peace because they’re getting the hell knocked out of them,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. Mr Trump has said the Houthis face being destroyed and warned Iran to stop its support for the group.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the actions of the Houthis were “unsustainable” and referred to the group as a “religious, fanatic gang". The US military campaign became mired in controversy this week after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, said he was inadvertently added to a group on the messaging app Signal, where high-level US officials, including Mr Rubio, discussed the first wave of strikes on Yemen. Messages included the times and weapons to be used, hours before the attacks were launched.