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Scores killed in US strikes on Yemen fuel port of Ras Isa, Houthi media says Scores killed in US strikes on Yemen fuel port of Ras Isa, Houthi media says
(about 4 hours later)
Al-Masirah TV reports at least 58 dead in attack Washington says was intended to cut off source of fuel to militants Al-Masirah TV reports at least 74 dead in attack Washington says was intended to cut off source of fuel to militants
US strikes on a fuel port in Yemen have killed at least 58 people, according to the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, in what would be one of the deadliest since Washington began its attacks on the Iran-backed militants. US military strikes on Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel port have killed at least 74 people including civilians and rescue workers, according to the Houthi-run health ministry, in the deadliest attack since Washington launched its campaign against the Iran-backed militants.
The US has vowed not to halt the large-scale strikes begun last month in its biggest military operation in the Middle East since Donald Trump took office in January unless the Houthis cease targeting Red Sea shipping. Health ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi also said 171 people were injured in Thursday’s strikes amid continuing efforts to search for victims.
Al-Masirah TV also said 126 people had been wounded in Thursday’s strikes on the western port of Ras Isa, which the US military said was intended to cut off a source of fuel for the Houthi militant group. “The death toll has risen to 74 martyrs and 171 wounded in a non-final count,” Houthi health ministry spokesman Alasbahi said.
Some analysts see the scale of the attack, and the nature of the target – a major economic site in the country – as aimed at sending a message to Tehran in the midst of mounting pressure on Iran from the Trump administration over its nuclear programme.
While US president Donald Trump has threatened to “annihilate” Yemen’s Houthis, the group remains intact despite the ongoing US air campaign, amid deep scepticism from experts over whether Trump’s military policy is achievable.
In the immediate aftermath of the US strikes a Houthi official vowed on Friday to hit back, announcing the group had targeted two US aircraft carriers and Israel following the deadliest American strikes on Yemen in more than a year.
“The American military buildup and continued aggression against our country will only lead to more counter-attack and attack operations, clashes and confrontations,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree told a rebel-organised protest in the capital Sanaa.
He added the group had targeted a military site near Israel’s main airport and two US aircraft carriers. That claim could not immediately be confirmed.
The US strikes, launched early on Friday, hit several different areas, but were mostly concentrated around the port facility where raids caught employees by surprise, with the dead including truck drivers who were on the scene at the time and also emergency responders.
Video footage from the port, posted by the Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah TV on social media in the early hours of Friday morning showed massive explosions and bodies strewn across the site.
The TV station later screened interviews with survivors lying on stretchers, including one man with burns on his arms.
“We ran away. The strikes came one after the other, then everything was on fire,” a man who said he worked at the port told al-Masirah.
Ras Isa terminal has a storage capacity of 3m barrels and was the first port built for oil exports from Yemen, around 40 years ago. A NASA satellite system that monitors fires picked up an intense blaze early Friday morning at the site just off Kamaran Island, comprising three large oil tanks and refining equipment.
In a statement posted on social media, US Central Command said: “US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorise the entire region for over 10 years.”
“This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully.”
The US has vowed to keep attacking Yemen’s Houthis, in its biggest military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January, unless the Houthis cease attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Asked for comment on the Houthis’ casualty figure and its own estimate, US Central Command said it had none beyond the initial announcement of the attacks.Asked for comment on the Houthis’ casualty figure and its own estimate, US Central Command said it had none beyond the initial announcement of the attacks.
“The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen,” it had said in a social media post. Iran called the latest US strikes “barbaric”, while Palestinian militants Hamas denounced them as “blatant aggression”.
The latest US campaign was triggered by Houthi threats to resume attacks on international shipping in protest at Israel’s blocking of aid to the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since November 2023, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel in protest over the war in Gaza.The Houthis have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since November 2023, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel in protest over the war in Gaza.
The group halted attacks on shipping lanes during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza. Although they vowed to resume strikes after Israel renewed its assault on Gaza last month, they have not claimed any since. Early on Friday and just hours after the US attack, Israel’s military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
Two days of US attacks in March killed more than 50 people, Houthi officials said. A recent expert analysis for the Atlantic Council was dubious about the practicality of US war aims in Yemen.
“The United States’ ability to track al-Houthi is likely hindered by limited intelligence on the ground in Yemen. This reality was echoed early last year when the US had difficulty assessing the success of its operations and the group’s full arsenal due to a lack of intelligence.
“Without a reliable presence or informant network, targeting such a well-hidden leader will prove challenging.”
The Trump administration’s clumsy handling of the enlarged US campaign against the Houthis in Yemen was already mired in controversy before Friday’s large death toll, when details of the initial attack plan were discussed by senior Trump officials on an unsecured chat service to which a journalist had been invited to join.