Aden, April 1 (IANS) The Houthi group reported on Tuesday that US forces have carried out 22 airstrikes on its targets in Yemen’s northern Sanaa and Saada provinces over the past several hours.
According to a brief statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, five airstrikes at dawn targeted the Jarban area in the Sanhan district southeast of Sanaa, while two others hit the Bani Matar district west of the capital.
The statement further indicated that Saada, a stronghold of the group, was subjected to 15 US airstrikes overnight, but did not disclose specific locations targeted.
The attacks came one day after US airstrikes killed two people and injured a child in Bani Qa’is in Yemen’s northwestern province of Hajjah on Monday, according to residents and local health authorities, Xinhua news agency reported.
The US military has resumed airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen since March 15 in a bid to deter the group from attacking Israeli targets, the US Navy, and international shipping lanes in the region.
However, the Houthi group responded by affirming its unwavering support for Gaza. It has resumed attacks on Israeli targets and US military vessels in the Red Sea, as Israel ended a January ceasefire with Hamas and restarted military operations in Gaza.
US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that strikes on Yemen’s Houthis will continue until they are no longer a threat to US ships.
“The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform, declaring that the Houthis had been “decimated” by “relentless” strikes over the past two weeks.
Earlier in the day, the Houthis said in a statement that it had shot down a US MQ-9 drone over Yemen’s central province of Marib.
“Our air defences shot down a hostile American MQ-9 drone in the airspace of Marib province, using a locally manufactured missile,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV.
–IANS
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