Air strikes kill at least six in Yemen, Houthis say

Rebels also claim to have shot down another US drone

Air strikes hit areas around Yemen's capital overnight, killing at least six people, the Houthis said on Monday, as the US continues a bombing campaign aimed at pressuring the rebels to end attacks on international shipping.

The Houthis also claimed to have shot down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone, saying it was intercepted using a locally manufactured missile.

Video aired by the Houthi-run Al Masirah satellite news channel showed firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being started by the air strikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the rebels claimed was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighbourhood of Sanaa.

The US military’s Central Command, which runs American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes, in keeping with recent practice.

The White House has said more than 200 attacks have been carried out since March 15. More than 120 people have been killed in the bombings since that date, according to figures released on Monday by the Houthis.

On Sunday night, the Iran-backed Houthis also said they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen's northwestern Hajjah governorate.

Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree said in a recorded video message that it was the fourth drone taken down in two weeks and it was hit with “a locally manufactured missile”. The Houthis are known to possess surface-to-air missiles capable of shooting aircraft down.

Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree makes a televised statement on Sunday. EPA

The Reaper drones, which cost around $30 million each, can fly at altitudes above 40,000 feet (12,100 metres) and remain in the air for more than 30 hours. They have been flown by both the US military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.

The US Central Command said it was aware of “reports” of the drone being shot down.

The Houthis began attacking ships crossing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. They paused the attacks during a January ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza at the start of March and resumed its offensive on the Palestinian territory on March 18, prompting the Houthis to begin attacking ships again.

The Houthi attacks have crippled the vital Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 per cent of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies to make a long detour around the tip of southern Africa.