Since its start nearly a month ago, the intense campaign of U.S. airstrikes under President Donald Trump targeting the Houthis over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters — related to the Israeli war on Gaza — has killed over 120 people, according to casualty figures released Monday by the Houthis' Health Ministry.

Footage aired by the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel showed firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being sparked by the airstrikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the rebels claimed was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital.

The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15.

The American military also hasn’t been providing any information on targets hit. The White House has said over 200 strikes have been conducted so far.

The Houthis separately claimed Sunday night they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen's Hajjah governorate, which sits to the northwest of the country on the Red Sea on the country's border with Saudi Arabia.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, described the downing in a prerecorded video message as the fourth in two weeks by the group. Saree said the Houthis targeted the drone with “a locally manufactured missile.” The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.

Central Command said it was aware of “reports” of the drone being shot down, but did not elaborate.

Follow us on:

Facebook

Instagram

Whatsapp