SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked an American aircraft carrier group twice within 24 hours as they held huge rallies on Monday after US strikes left dozens dead. The response from the Houthis follows attacks on Saturday ordered by President Donald Trump that hammered the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and several other areas, killing 53 people.
Tens of thousands of people protested in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen on Monday, the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV showed. Demonstrators waved placards and assault rifles, chanting "Death to America, death to Israel”, at a huge protest in the capital Sanaa, while rallies were also held in Saada, Dhamar, Hodeida and Amran. The demonstrations were called by the rebel group’s leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi.
In the capital, seized by the Huthis in 2014, giant Yemeni and Palestinian flags punctuated a sea of demonstrators at Al-Sabeen Square, the site of weekly protests throughout the Gaza war. "Yemen will never back down – we defy the Americans, we defy the Zionists,” said a man shouting slogans to the crowd. Fifty-three people died and 98 were wounded in Saturday’s US attacks on Sanaa and other areas, according to the Houthi health ministry.
The United States struck the Houthis over their repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping sparked by the Gaza war, which have put a major strain on the vital trade route.
The rebels said they had hit back by firing 18 missiles and a drone at the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier group on Sunday, before launching a second strike hours later. US warplanes shot down 11 Houthi drones on Sunday, none of which came close to the Truman, a US official told Reuters. US forces also tracked a missile that splashed down off the coast of Yemen and was not deemed a threat, the official said.
In a statement posted to Telegram, a Houthi spokesperson said the attacks were "in retaliation to the continued American aggression against our country”. Washington has vowed to keep striking Yemen until the rebels stop attacking Red Sea shipping, with Trump warning he would use "overwhelming lethal force”.
Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Huthi called for large-scale rallies on Monday, the anniversary of the Battle of Badr — an against-the-odds, seventh-century military victory by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). "I call on our dear people to go out tomorrow on the anniversary of the Battle of Badr in a million-strong march in Sanaa and the rest of the governorates,” he said in a televised address late on Sunday.
Late on Saturday, the Houthi-controlled capital was hit by heavy strikes, including in northern districts frequented by the rebels’ leadership. The Houthi health ministry said women and children were among the 53 people killed and 98 wounded. Houthi media reported more explosions late on Sunday night, accusing the Americans of targeting a cotton facility in the Hodeida region and the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship hijacked in Nov 2023. – Agencies
