US has conducted 1200 raids on Yemen since March: Houthis

Aden, April 26 (IANS) The Houthi group claimed that US warplanes have conducted 1200 raids on Yemen since mid-March, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties and widespread destruction of infrastructure.

In a press statement, the foreign affairs authority of the group alleged that the US operations destroyed "numerous civilian facilities, including residential neighbourhoods, ports, health facilities, water tanks, and archaeological sites, in flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law."

The group accused Washington of making "miserable attempts to evade its responsibility for the crimes it is committing in Yemen" and of "working to cover up its sinful aggression against Yemen and its crimes against civilians."

The US government has not issued an immediate response to these Houthi allegations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The United States resumed military operations against Yemen on March 15 after President Donald Trump ordered "decisive and powerful military action" against Houthi forces. Trump subsequently pledged that strikes would continue until the group poses no threat to the "freedom of navigation."

Earlier on April 22, Yemen's Houthis said in a statement that the group had shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the Yemeni northwestern province of Hajjah, and launched fresh attacks against two US aircraft carriers.

"We shot down a hostile American MQ-9 drone while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the televised statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

"The drone was shot down, using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile," he said, adding: "The MQ-9 drone is the seventh drone we had shot down this April and the 22nd since November 2023."

Sarea also said the group launched fresh attacks against two US aircraft carriers, from which the US military has been conducting airstrikes against Houthi targets across northern Yemen since mid-March.

"We carried out two military operations targeting the American aircraft carriers: the USS S. Harry Truman and the USS Carl Vinson and their escorting warships in the Red and Arabian Seas, using cruise missiles and drones," Sarea said.

The conflict comes amid ongoing tensions in the region, with the Houthis claiming their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Despite these threats, the Houthis have reportedly intensified their attacks on Israel, as well as on US naval forces and drones operating in the Red Sea.

--IANS

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