US strikes against Yemen's Houthi rebels, killing at least one person amid escalating conflict

Suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded Yemen overnight into Saturday, reportedly killing at least one person as the American military acknowledged earlier bombing a major military site in the heart of Sanaa controlled by the Houthi rebels.

The full extent of the damage and possible casualties wasn’t immediately clear. The attacks followed a night of airstrikes early Friday that appeared particularly intense compared to other days in the campaign that began March 15.

An Associated Press review has found the new American operation under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the U.S. moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.

Meanwhile, satellite photos analyzed by the AP show a mysterious airstrip just off Yemen in a key maritime chokepoint now appears ready to accept flights and B-2 bombers within striking distance of the country Saturday.

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The strikes into Saturday targeted multiple areas in Yemen under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis, including the capital, Sanaa, and in the governorates of al-Jawf and Saada, rebel-controlled media reported. The strikes in Saada killed one person and wounded four others, the Houthi-run SABA news agency said.

SABA identified the person killed as a civilian. Houthi fighters and their allies often aren’t in uniform. However, analysts believe the rebels may be undercounting the fatalities given the strikes have been targeting military and intelligence sites run by the rebels. Many of the strikes haven’t been fully acknowledged by the Houthis — or the U.S. military — while the rebels also tightly control access on the ground.

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One strike early Friday, however, has been confirmed by the U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees its Mideast operations. It posted a black-and-white video early Saturday showing an airstrike targeting a site in Yemen. While it didn’t identify the location, an AP analysis of the footage’s details corresponds to a known strike Friday in Sanaa. The footage shows the bomb striking the military’s general command headquarters held by the Houthis, something the rebels have not reported.

The Houthi-controlled Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry in Sanaa separately said U.S. strikes Friday destroyed “broadcasting stations, communication towers and the messaging network” in Amran and Saada governorates. The strikes in Amran around the Jebel Aswad, or “Black Mountain,” had appeared particularly intense.

US campaign follows Houthi shipping threats

The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis now say have killed at least 58 people, started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels in the past have had a loose definition of what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning other vessels could be targeted as well.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign targeting ships from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none have been hit so far.

The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.

The Houthis have begun threatening both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two American allies in the region, over the U.S. strikes. That’s even as the nations, which have sought a separate peace with the Houthis, have stayed out of the new U.S. airstrike campaign.

An AP analysis of satellite photos from Saturday shows the American military has moved at least four long-range stealth B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — a base far outside of the range of the rebels that avoids using allies’ Mideast bases. Three had been earlier seen there this week.

That means a fourth of all the nuclear-capable B-2s that America has in its arsenal are now deployed to the base. The Biden administration used the B-2 with conventional bombs against Houthi targets last year.

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman has launched attacks from the Red Sea and the American military plans to bring the carrier USS Carl Vinson from Asia as well.

Meanwhile, France said its sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, was in Djibouti, an East African nation on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The French have shot down Houthi drones in the past, but they are not part of the American campaign there.

Mysterious airstrip in Bab el-Mandeb appears ready

Satellite images Friday from Planet Labs PBC show an airstrip now appears ready on Mayun Island, a volcanic outcropping in the center of the Bab el-Mandeb. The images showed the airstrip had been painted with the designation markings “09” and “27” to the airstrip’s east and west respectively.

A Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis had acknowledged having “equipment” on Mayun, also known as Perim. However, air and sea traffic to Mayun has linked the construction to the UAE, which backs a secessionist force in Yemen known as the Southern Transitional Council.

World powers have recognized the island’s strategic location for hundreds of years, especially with the opening of the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

The work on Mayun follows the completion of a similar airstrip likely constructed by the UAE on Abd al-Kuri Island, which rises out of the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden.