74 killed in deadliest US attack on Yemen, Houthis say

US strikes on a Yemeni fuel port killed at least 74 people, Houthi rebels said Friday, in the deadliest attack of Washington's campaign against the Iran-backed group.

The strikes also wounded more than 170 people, a Houthi official said.

The US military said its attack on the Ras Issa fuel terminal on the Red Sea aimed to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the Houthis, who control large swathes of the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country.

The strikes on Thursday, the latest in an intense wave of attacks under President Donald Trump, came just before the U.S. resumes on Saturday negotiations in Rome with Iran over its nuclear program.

"The death toll... has risen to 74 martyrs and 171 wounded in a non-final count," Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said, adding that rescue teams were still searching for victims.

AFP could not independently verify the figures.

Images broadcast by a Houthi-run television station showed large blazes lighting up the night sky.

The attack sparked protests in rebel-held areas on Friday.

"The military actions in Yemen are clearly sending a signal to Tehran," Mohammed Albasha, a U.S.-based consultant, told AFP.

The U.S. military has hammered the Houthis with near-daily air strikes in a bid to end their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Claiming solidarity with Palestinians, the rebels began attacking the key maritime routes and Israeli territory after the Gaza war began in October 2023.

They paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire.

In a statement, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said: "U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years."

Ships "have continued to supply fuel via the port of Ras Issa" despite Washington this year designating the rebels a foreign terrorist organization, CENTCOM added, without specifying the source of the fuel.

'Everything was on fire'

U.S. strikes on the Houthis began in January 2024 under former president Joe Biden but have resumed and multiplied under Trump, starting with an offensive that killed 53 people on March 15.

Footage broadcast early Friday by Al-Masirah showed a fireball igniting off the coast as thick columns of smoke rose above what appeared to be an ongoing blaze.

The Houthi TV station later screened interviews with survivors lying on stretchers, including one man with burns on his arms.

"We ran away. The strikes came one after the other, then everything was on fire," one man who said he worked at the port told Al-Masirah.

In January Israel carried out air strikes in Ras Issa and elsewhere in Yemen, describing the targets as military infrastructure. Similar Israeli strikes that also included Ras Issa took place in September.

Iran called the latest U.S. strikes "barbaric", while Hamas denounced them as "blatant aggression".

On Saturday, the U.S. and Iran are to continue talks aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program, following warnings it is getting ever closer to building an atomic weapon.

The latest U.S. campaign was triggered by Houthi threats to resume attacks on international shipping in protest at Israel's blocking aid to the Gaza Strip.

"The message today is unmistakable: the U.S. is targeting not only Houthi military assets and personnel, but also their economic infrastructure," Albasha said.

Also on Friday, Israel's military said it intercepted an incoming missile from Yemen that set off sirens in "several areas".

'Death to America'

In Saada, the Houthis' stronghold in rugged northern Yemen, hundreds of people chanted "Death to America! Death to Israel!" in rebel-organized protests, Al-Masirah footage showed.

The rebel TV station broadcast similar protests in Dhamar, Amran and Sanaa, the historic Yemeni capital that has been under Houthi control since 2014.

Separately, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce accused the Chinese satellite firm Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company of "directly supporting" Houthi attacks on "US interests".

Bruce did not initially provide details, but later referred to "a Chinese company providing satellite imagery to the Houthis".

Houthi attacks on the Red Sea shipping route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade, forced many companies into costly detours around the tip of southern Africa.