Today's Edition
WASHINGTON/ADEN (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, warning "hell will rain down upon you" if the Houthis do not abandon their campaign.
The unfolding US strikes represent the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January, and came as the United States ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
At least nine civilians were killed and nine injured in US strikes on Yemen's Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.
The Houthis launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023.
The previous US administration of President Joe Biden had sought to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack vessels off its coast but limited the US actions.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Trump has authorised a more aggressive approach.
The strikes on Saturday were carried out in part by aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea, officials said.
Trump held out the prospect of far more devastating military action against Yemen.
"The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective," Trump wrote.
