Yemen's Houthi rebels reported their first civilian death this weekend since US and British air strikes began against the Iran-backed insurgents, whose attacks have targeted maritime traffic off Yemen.
One civilian was killed and eight injured in the American-British bombings in Yemen this weekend, the Houthi rebels' press agency said on Sunday evening, a day after a new series of attacks in the country.
“The US-British aggression in the Maqbana district of Taiz governorate resulted in the death of one citizen and the injury of six others,” Saba agency reported, citing a statement from the rebels, while two citizens were injured in the capital Sanaa-controlled Ministry of public health.
The United States and the United Kingdom announced Saturday that they were targeting 18 Houthi targets in eight different locations in Yemen as part of an operation supported by eight other countries: Canada, Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand would have attacked.
The Houthis, who control much of the territory, have been attacking ships off Yemen's coast that they believe are linked to Israel since November and say they have been acting in “solidarity” over the war in Gaza since October the Palestinians 7. Most recently, Israel belonged to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Washington, Israel's first ally, launched a multinational coalition in December to “protect” maritime traffic in these strategic waters.
Since mid-January, American forces, sometimes together with their British ally, have also carried out several attacks on Yemeni territory.
According to the Houthis, who are now also targeting British and American ships, one of these operations in February left 17 rebels dead.
In recent days, the Houthis notably fired a missile against the Rubymar, a British ship that is losing fuel in the Gulf of Aden.