Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – American air fairs targeting the oil port Ras Isa held by Yemen rebels Houthis killed 20 people and injured 50 others, said the group early on Friday.
The strikes, confirmed by the central command of the American army, has so far been one of the highest death balance sheets reported in the campaign launched under President Donald Trump who involved hundreds of strikes since March 15. Houthis supported by Iran, said a missile to Israel that was intercepted, said the Israeli army, caused sirens in Israel and other areas on Friday and other areas.
The war in Yemen, on the other hand, is also internalizing while the United States allegedly alleged that a Chinese satellite company “directly supported” the Houthi attacks, which Beijing did not immediately recognize.
The Al-Masirah satellite news channel of Houthis has disseminated graphic images of the consequences of the attack on the port of Ras Isa, showing corpses scattered on the site. He said the port paramedical and civilian workers had been killed in the attack, which sparked an explosion and massive fires.
In a statement, Central Command said that “American forces have taken measures to eliminate this fuel source for Houthi terrorists supported by Iran and deprive them of illegal income that has financed Houthi efforts to terrorize the whole region for more than 10 years.”
“This strike was not intended to harm the inhabitants of Yemen, who rightly want to eliminate the yoke of the Houthi subjugation and live peacefully,” he added. He recognized no victim and refused to comment when asked by the Associated Press concerning the civilians who were killed.
The United States strikes Spark Massive Fireball, kills those in Port
The Port Ras Isa, a collection of three oil and refining equipment reservoirs, is in the governor of Hodeida Yemen along the Red Sea. NASA satellites that follow forest fires showed an intense fire early Friday morning on the site right next to the island of Kamaran, targeted by intense American air strikes in recent days.
The port of Ras Isa is also the terminus of an oil pipeline which extends over the governor of the rich husbands of Yemen, who remains held by the exiled government of the allies of Yemen. The Houthis expelled this government from the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, in 2015. However, oil exports were interrupted by the Decadelong War and the Houthis used Ras Isa to bring oil.
The Houthis denounced the American attack.
“This completely unjustified aggression represents a blatant violation of the sovereignty and independence of Yemen and a direct targeting of the whole of the Yemeni people,” the Houthis said in a press release published by the Saba news agency which they control. “He targets a vital civilian establishment which served the Yemeni people for decades.”
On April 9, the US State Department issued a warning concerning oil shipments in Yemen.
“The United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as Houthis, including the unloading of ships and the supply of oil in the ports controlled by the Houthi,” he said.
The attack follows Israeli air strikes on the Houthis that have already hit the port and oil infrastructure used by rebels after their attacks on Israel.
Chinese satellite cabin accused by us of having helped Houthi attacks
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the US State Department, Tammy Bruce, during a briefing with accused journalists Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., a supplier of commercial satellite images, to “directly support the Houthi terrorist attacks supported by Iran against American interests”.
Bruce did not develop in detail, but recognized a history of the Financial Times who cited anonymous American officials saying that the company linked to the army of popular liberation provided images allowing rebels to target American warships and commercial ships traveling in the corridor of the Red Sea.
“The support of Beijing, by the way, of this company, of the satellite company, even after we have had discussions with them on this subject … Certainly contradicted their claims to be supporters of peace,” said Bruce.
Chinese officials and the company, known to the acronym CGSTL, could not be immediately joined to comment. Chinese state media have not recognized the accusation. The US Treasury sanctioned the CGSTL in 2023 for having allegedly provided satellite images to the Russian Mercenary Force The Wagner group As he fought in Ukraine as part of Russia’s large -scale invasion.
American strikes are present as part of an intense one month campaign
An AP review found the new American operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump more extensive That this under former president Joe Biden, while Washington goes from the only one to target the launch sites for shooting on the classification staff and the abolition of bombs on the cities.
The new air strike campaign started after the rebels threatened to start targeting “Israeli” ships Once again on Israel Blocking helps entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, which means that many ships could be targeted.
The Houthis have targeted more than 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones, pour two of them and kill four sailors From November 2023 to January of this year. This has considerably reduced the flow of commerce through the corridor of the Red Sea, which generally sees 1 billion of dollars of goods moving through. The Houthis have also launched attacks targeting US warships without success.
The American campaign does not show any signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its air strikes to the Houthis to an effort to put pressure on Iran on its Quickly advanced nuclear program. A second cycle of negotiations between Iran and the United States From having taken place on Saturday in Rome.
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The writer Associated Press Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
