At least 74 reportedly dead in American strikes on Yemen

At least 74 people have been killed in US airstrikes on a fuel port in Yemen, the Houthi-run health ministry has said.

Spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi said 171 people have been injured in Thursday's strikes, according to preliminary figures.

If the figures are independently confirmed, it will be one of the deadliest days since Donald Trump's administration launched a military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi group last month.

The US said the intention was to cut off a source of fuel for the Houthis.

The Ras Isa terminal has a storage capacity of three million barrels and was the first port built for oil exports from Yemen, about 40 years ago.

The US has said the strikes will only cease if the Houthis stop targeting Red Sea shipping lanes, which have been regularly bombarded since November 2023.

The Houthis say their attacks are in protest over the war in Gaza, though they stopped during a two-month ceasefire earlier this year and have not claimed any since the Israeli offensive resumed in March.

US Central Command has not commented on the health ministry's casualty figures.

But in a post on X, it said its latest attack was designed to "degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen".

It added: "This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully."

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Similar missile strikes against the Houthis were carried out multiple times by the Biden administration, in response to attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.