Possible new bombings took place this Sunday against military positions of the Houthi rebels in the north of the port city of Al Hodeida, in western Yemen, on the third day of consecutive air strikes against insurgent installations, according to several witnesses.
According to the informants, fighter planes and reconnaissance drones flew over the town coinciding with the bombings, which occur in the midst of a military escalation in the Red Sea that pits the Houthis against the United States and the United Kingdom, whom they the rebels have declared an “open war.”
According to the Saba news agency, controlled by the insurgents, these new bombings were carried out by “American and British aggression”, but Washington flatly denies this.
The source did not provide more details about the facility attacked, although the port city of Al Hodeida, on the shores of the Red Sea, has been the target of bombing in recent days as it is one of the main bases for launching attacks by the Houthis against commercial vessels transiting the sea route.
The United States and its allies opposed to the Houthi rebels are not behind the attacks, a US military official has declared. “There were no US or coalition attacks today,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
Early Friday morning, the United States and the United Kingdom carried out a large-scale military operation against thirty rebel enclaves that left at least five dead, according to the Houthis themselves, who promised to take retaliatory actions.
The next day, Washington again launched a more limited attack against radar systems used by the Houthis in the capital, Sana’a, while another bombing that has not been claimed so far hit military installations in Al Hodeida.
Since mid-November, the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea to economically harm Israel and support the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, something that has set off alarms in the Middle East due to growing fears of that a new war front opens.
Washington and London allege that these bombings have the objective of undermining the rebels’ capabilities to continue carrying out these actions, which have caused significant disruptions in this strategic route through which around 15% of world maritime trade transits.
