The United States has hit more than 100 targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen since launching its latest air campaign against the Iran-backed rebels, according to a US military official on Wednesday.
US forces have been carrying out almost daily air strikes since March 15, claiming they want to protect shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, key passages for world trade, where the Hutis have launched numerous attacks in support, they say, of Palestinians in Gaza bombed and besieged by Israel.
“Since then, the US has hit more than 100 targets in the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” said a US military official who requested anonymity.
“We have destroyed command and control centers, weapons factories and advanced weapons storage sites,” he added.
The Hutis denounced attacks on Tuesday night that hit the al-Hawak neighborhood in Hodeida, and according to the rebels, 10 people were killed and 16 wounded.
The area is home to the city's airport, which the rebels have used in the past to attack ships in the Red Sea.
The rebels' military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, implicitly acknowledged the harshness of the US military operation, referring to "continuous aggression" and "horrific massacres" in Yemen, according to a statement quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE.
Arab and US media outlets have claimed in recent days that several rebel leaders were killed in the bombings, which, according to Washington, have effectively degraded the Houthis' military capabilities.
The Yemeni Saba news agency, controlled by the Houthis, reported today that "four children and two women" were killed in Tuesday's US strikes in the west of the country, bringing the total number of deaths to 107 according to the rebels.
The rebels also claimed the downing of a US drone "while it was carrying out hostile missions".
The White House also announced today that US authorities will inspect immigrants' social media accounts for signs of anti-Semitism or physical harassment of Jewish people.
The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement, said the goal is to "protect the homeland from foreign extremists and terrorists, including those who support anti-Semitic terrorism, violent anti-Semitic ideologies, and anti-Semitic terrorist organizations such as [Palestinian] Hamas, [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad, [Lebanese] Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis."
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