Strikes target Houthi military sites in Yemen’s Taiz: witnesses
Strikes targeted Houthi military sites in Yemen’s southwestern city of Taiz, two witnesses in the area said on Sunday (March 16, 2025), as U.S. President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against the Iran-aligned group.
– Reuters
March 16, 2025 09:17
U.S. aircraft before airstrikes in Sanaa
This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (U.S. Navy via AP)
March 16, 2025 09:15
Houthi attacks…will not be tolerated: U.S. Secretary
Earlier this month, the United States reclassified the Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, banning any U.S. interaction with it.
“Continued Houthi attacks on U.S. military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department.
Moscow is close to Tehran, which supports the Houthis.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Houthis had “attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023”.
The Houthis captured Sanaa in 2014 and were poised to overrun most of the rest of the country before a Saudi-led coalition intervened.
– AFP
March 16, 2025 09:04
U.S. strikes in Yemen kill 21 as Trump vows to end Houthi attacks
The first U.S. strikes against Yemen’s Houthi since President Donald Trump took office in January killed at least 21 people, the rebels said Sunday (March 16, 2025), as Washington warned Iran to stop backing the group.
“Nine civilians were killed and nine others were injured, most of them seriously,” the Houthis’ Health and Environment Ministry said in a statement on their Saba news agency, reporting the strikes on Sanaa.
A strike in the Saada region killed at least 10 people and wounded others, according to the Houthi Ansarollah website, condemning what it called “U.S.-British aggression” and Washington’s “criminal brutality”.
– AFP
March 16, 2025 08:55
Why has Trump has ordered airstrikes against rebels in Yemen?
U.S. President Donald Trump says he has ordered airstrikes against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and issued a warning to Tehran.
The Houthi rebels started attacking military and commercial ships on one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors shortly after the war in Gaza began between Hamas and Israel in October 2023.
The Houthis said they were targeting vessels on the Red Sea with links to Israel or its allies — the United States and the U.K. — in solidarity with Palestinians, but some vessels had little or no link to the war.
The Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, until the current ceasefire in Gaza took effect in mid-January. Other missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach their targets, which included Western military ones.
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Why has Trump has ordered airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen?
Trump orders airstrikes against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, warning Tehran, targeting vessels linked to Israel and allies.
March 16, 2025 08:54
Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen
U.S. President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen on Saturday (March 15, 2025), promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”
He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy.
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