Iran-backed Yemen rebels say attacked US carrier after air strikes

Iran-backed Huthi rebels successful Yemen said Sunday they attacked a US craft bearer radical successful the Red Sea and volition people American commercialized vessels, a time aft aerial strikes the White House said killed elder rebel leaders.

The Huthi wellness ministry said astir of the dormant were women and children.

"In effect to this aggression, the equipped forces conducted a subject operation... targeting the US craft bearer USS Harry Truman and its accompanying warships", the radical said successful a statement.

The Huthis said they had launched 18 missiles and a drone astatine the American ships.

There was nary contiguous remark from the United States astir the claim.

Saturday's American attacks connected the rebel-held superior Sanaa arsenic good arsenic Saada, Al-Bayda and Radaa killed astatine slightest 31 radical and wounded 101, mostly women and children, Huthi wellness ministry spokesperson Anis al-Asbahi said earlier.

US officials connected Sunday vowed further strikes until the Huthis halt attacking Red Sea shipping.

The United Nations urged some sides to cease "all subject activity".

Before their claimed onslaught connected the carrier, the rebels had carried retired nary attacks successful the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, erstwhile a ceasefire began successful the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, however, the Huthis said they would resume attacks connected Israeli shipping implicit Israel's halting of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

In a televised code precocious Sunday, rebel person Abdulmalik al-Huthi added US cargo ships to its targets "as agelong arsenic it continues its aggression". He called for a cardinal Yemenis to march connected Monday successful defiance.

"If the American aggression against our state continues, we volition determination to further escalatory options," helium said.

- 'Overwhelming force' -

US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday's strikes "targeted aggregate Huthi leaders and took them out".

He told Fox News: "We conscionable deed them with overwhelming unit and enactment Iran connected announcement that capable is enough."

Pentagon main Pete Hegseth vowed an "unrelenting" rocket run until the Huthi attacks stop.

"I privation to beryllium precise clear, this run is astir state of navigation and restoring deterrence," Hegseth said successful a televised Fox Business interview.

"The infinitesimal the Huthis say, 'We'll halt shooting astatine your ships, we'll halt shooting astatine your drones,' this run volition end. But until then, it volition beryllium unrelenting."

CENTCOM, the US Central Command, said it had carried retired a "large standard operation" against the Huthis.

Witnesses successful Yemen, a state that has endured years of war, said Sunday they were taken aback by the attack's intensity.

Footage connected Huthi media showed children, including a dazed miss with blackened legs wrapped successful bandages, and a pistillate being treated successful hospital.

One begetter of two, who gave his sanction arsenic Ahmed, told AFP: "I've been surviving successful Sanaa for 10 years, proceeding shelling passim the war. By God, I've ne'er experienced thing similar this before," helium said.

Trump, posting connected societal media, vowed to "use overwhelming lethal force" to extremity the Huthi attacks, which the rebels accidental are successful solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

"To each Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON'T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!" helium said.

"To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists indispensable extremity IMMEDIATELY!" Trump added.

The Huthis, who had agelong complained of marginalisation, seized Sanaa successful September 2014, forcing the authorities to fly southbound and leaving the rebels controlling ample parts of Yemen.

A Saudi-led conjugation successful March 2015 began a subject run against the Huthis that the Yemen Data Project, an autarkic tracker, said progressive much than 25,000 aerial raids.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the deaths successful Saturday's US strikes and said Washington had "no authority" to dictate Tehran's overseas policy.

- 'Fully prepared' -

The Huthis' governmental bureau said its "forces are afloat prepared to face escalation with escalation".

They person launched scores of drone and rocket attacks connected ships successful the 2 cardinal waterways, and person antecedently targeted US warships.

The Yemen Conflict Observatory database acceptable up by ACLED, a non-profit monitor, shows 136 Huthi attacks against warships, commercialized vessels, Israeli and different targets since October 19, 2023.

The captious commercialized way usually carries astir 12 percent of satellite shipping traffic, but the Huthi attacks forced galore companies into costly detours astir confederate Africa.

The Palestinian radical Hamas, which has praised Huthi support, branded the US strikes "a stark usurpation of planetary instrumentality and an battle connected the country's sovereignty and stability".

The caput of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, said: "Iran volition not wage war, but if anyone threatens, it volition springiness appropriate, decisive and conclusive responses."

The United States had already launched respective rounds of strikes connected Huthi targets.

Israel has besides struck Yemen, astir precocious successful December, aft Huthi rocket occurrence towards Israeli territory.

Fighting successful Yemen's ain warfare has mostly been connected clasp since a 2022 ceasefire, but the promised bid process has stalled successful the look of the Huthi attacks connected shipping.

The warfare killed hundreds of thousands either straight oregon indirectly done causes specified arsenic disease, plunging Yemen into 1 of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

burs-it/srm