1 killed, 6 injured in airstrikes in Yemen

SANAA — A man was killed and six members of his family were injured in Yemen’s southwestern province of Taiz in Saturday’s overnight airstrikes by the US-British forces, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported on Sunday.

Following the airstrikes, Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said: “The American-British aggression airstrikes targeted the communications networks in the Shamir area of Maqbanah District, and in Haifan District.” They are both located in Taiz Province.

It also reported other airstrikes on a farm in the Abs District in the northwestern province of Hajjah, and more than a dozen airstrikes in the capital Sanaa targeting several well-known military positions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Sunday strongly condemned the attacks.

He made the remarks in a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website, describing the large-scale military attacks launched late on Saturday as “arbitrary, and in violation of the recognized international rules and regulations as well as Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Kanaani said the United States and Britain “prioritize commitment to Israel’s security and illegitimate objectives over international peace and security”.

Intensifying tensions

Kanaani added that with such attacks, the US and Britain sought to “intensify the tension and crisis in the region”.

Local witnesses and residents said in the attacks last night, at least four missiles hit the Al-Siyanah Military Camp, north of Sanaa’s downtown, causing big explosions and fire, and the warplanes struck a military camp in the southern part of the capital and another camp on a mountain east of Sanaa.

US media, citing anonymous US officials, reported that the US and Britain hit more than a dozen Houthi targets in response to a recent surge in the group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The officials said the US and British fighter jets hit about 18 sites in this fourth joint strike against the Houthis since Jan 12.

The Houthis say their attacks on shipping around the Red Sea are in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Regional tensions have soared since the conflict erupted in October, stoking violence involving groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.