Yemen's Houthi rebels attack US aircraft carrier after strikes that killed 68

Two US strikes hit the capital Sanaa and an African migrant centre in Saada

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they attacked the American aircraft carrier Harry S Truman in the Red Sea on Monday after two US strikes on the capital, Sanaa, and a detention centre for African migrants in the northern Saada governorate, the group's spokesman said.

Cruise and ballistic missiles and drones were launched towards the carrier group, Lt Col Yahya Saree said. “The resulting engagement and confrontation forced the carrier to retreat from its previous position and head to the far north of the Red Sea,” he added.

A video on the Houthis' Al Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be people killed or injured in an explosion.

“The civil defence has announced that 68 African migrants were killed and 47 others wounded in the US attack targeting a centre for illegal migrants in the city of Saada,” Al Masirah said. “Civil defence teams and the Red Crescent are continuing their efforts at the scene of the American crime.”

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Monday that it is targeting three vessels and their owners for providing support to the Houthis.

“Today’s action underscores our commitment to disrupt the Houthis’ efforts to fund their dangerous and destabilising attacks in the region,” the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to target those who seek to enable the Houthis’ ability to exploit the people of Yemen and continue their campaign of violence.”

Ethiopians and other African migrants have for years been arriving in Yemen, crossing war zones in an effort to reach Gulf states in search of work. The Houthis are alleged to make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants to Saudi Arabia.

Witnesses, formerly detained in the same centre, told The National that African migrants arrive to Saada in attempts to cross over to Saudi Arabia.

The witnesses added that the Africans killed in the strike had been detained in a huge separate building, about 2km away from the main centre but inside the same complex.

A source from an international organisation said that the Africans were in custody pending drugs smuggling related cases and that the detention centre was hit by three strikes at dawn.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life in Sadaa, and remains “committed to closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to offer support as needed”.

“We call on all parties to the conflict to prioritise the protection of civilians and ensure full respect for International Laws.”

The US has been carrying out an intensified bombing campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis over the past month in an attempt to stop the rebels from attacking international shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis say they are launching attacks in solidarity with Hamas as it fights against Israeli troops in Gaza.

On Sunday night, US air strikes also hit Yemen's capital Sanaa, killing eight people, the Houthis said. Al Masirah broadcast video of wrecked cars and rubble from homes, while rescuers collected what appeared to be human remains.

Smoke billows from the site of a US air strike in Sanaa on Saturday. Reuters

An overnight statement from US Central Command said its Operation Roughrider had since March 15 hit more than 800 targets and “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders”.

The strikes destroyed command-and-control centres, air defence systems, weapons manufacturing and storage locations, the US Central Command said.

“We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region,” it added.

US strikes on Yemen started in January last year but have increased since President Donald Trump took office this year in an attempt to stop the Houthi attacks on shipping.

From November 2023 until January this year, the Houthis attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 per cent of the world's marine traffic.