Yemen Monitor/Sana’a/Exclusive:
The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, claimed on Saturday that the US and UK have conducted over 700 airstrikes against Yemen and Houthi positions.
In a televised speech, al-Houthi stated that “700 airstrikes and naval bombardments have not benefited the Americans” and have not stopped our operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden or deterred and halted us.
He said that the US bombing targeted “civilian facilities, the latest being a place near a girls’ school in Taiz, which resulted in the death of two girls and the injury of 18 others,” according to him.
He noted that the airstrikes that targeted the group’s positions last week amounted to 24 strikes distributed across Hodeidah, Taiz, Ibb, Sa’ada, and Marib, but the damage was concentrated in Taiz governorate.
The Houthi leader claimed that his group had shot down two American MQ-9 drones in the past week alone.
Since the end of last year, the Houthis have been targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and have expanded their operations to the Indian Ocean. They have stated that they are targeting ships linked to Israel, which is launching a brutal attack on the Gaza Strip. However, the Yemeni government and experts say that the Houthis’ goals are domestic, aimed at escaping from internal crises and improving their image in the region.
In response, the US and Britain have been launching airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi group since January 11. As a result, the Houthis announced the expansion of their operations to include US and British ships.
Since November to August, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) has recorded more than 220 attacks on US commercial or military ships off the coast of Yemen, including nearly 120 attacks since the start of US airstrikes on the Yemeni mainland.
