DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥 U.S. airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen鈥檚 Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the group said Friday, marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump鈥檚 new campaign targeting the rebels.
Assessing the toll of Trump鈥檚 campaign, , has been incredibly difficult as the U.S. military鈥檚 Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed. Meanwhile, Yemen鈥檚 Houthi rebels strictly control access to areas attacked and don鈥檛 publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites.
But the strike on the Ras Isa oil port, which sent massive fireballs shooting into the night sky, represented a major escalation for the American campaign. The Houthis immediately released graphic footage of those killed in the attack.
In a statement, Central Command said that 鈥淯.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.鈥
鈥淭his strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully,鈥 it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties and declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press regarding civilians reportedly being killed.
The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other areas.
The war in Yemen, meanwhile, further internationalized as the U.S. alleged a Chinese satellite company was 鈥渄irectly supporting鈥 Houthi attacks, something Beijing declined to directly comment on Friday.
US strikes spark massive fireball
The Ras Isa port, a collection of three oil tanks and refining equipment, sits in Yemen's Hodeida governorate along the Red Sea. NASA satellites that track forest fires showed an intense blaze early Friday at the site just off Kamaran Island, targeted by intense U.S. airstrikes over the past few days.
The Houthis鈥 al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath, showing corpses strewn across the site. It said paramedic and civilians workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires.
The Ras Isa port also is the terminus of an oil pipeline stretching to , which remains held by allies of Yemen's exiled government. The Houthis expelled that government from Yemen's capital, Sanaa, back in 2015. However, oil exports have been halted by the decadelong war and the Houthis have used Ras Isa to bring in oil.
The Houthis denounced the U.S. attack.
鈥淭his completely unjustified aggression represents a flagrant violation of Yemen鈥檚 sovereignty and independence and a direct targeting of the entire Yemeni people,鈥 the Houthis said in a statement carried by the SABA news agency they control. 鈥淚t targets a vital civilian facility that has served the Yemeni people for decades.鈥
On April 9, the U.S. State Department issued a warning about oil shipments to Yemen.
鈥淭he United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports,鈥 it said.
The attack follows Israeli airstrikes on the Houthis which previously hit port and oil infrastructure used by the rebels after their attacks on Israel.
Oil depot attack deadliest so far known in Trump's Yemen campaign
The attack represented the deadliest known attack so far in the campaign, analysts said. However, 鈥渋t鈥檚 been so difficult to assess the fatalities,鈥 said Luca Nevola, the senior analyst for Yemen and the Gulf at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
鈥淪ince they are targeting civilian areas, there鈥檚 a lot more victims but it鈥檚 also difficult to assess how many because the Houthis are releasing these umbrella statements that cover all the victims ... or tend to stress only the civilian victims,鈥 Nevola said.
Further complicating the situation is the U.S. strikes hitting military targets, said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert at the Basha Report risk advisory firm. He pointed to an American attack that , that may have killed some 70 fighters.
鈥淎lthough the Houthis claimed it was a tribal gathering, they neither released any footage nor named a single casualty, strongly suggesting the victims were not civilians but affiliated fighters,鈥 al-Basha said. 鈥淗owever, the overnight strike on the Ras Isa Fuel Port marks the first mass-casualty incident the Houthis have openly acknowledged and publicized.鈥
Chinese satellite firm accused by US of aiding Houthi attacks
Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in a briefing with journalists accused Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., a commercial satellite image provider, of 鈥渄irectly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests.鈥
Bruce did not elaborate in detail, but acknowledged a story by The Financial Times that quoted anonymous American officials saying the firm linked to the People鈥檚 Liberation Army has provided images allowing the rebels to target U.S. warships and commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea corridor.
鈥淏eijing鈥檚 support, by the way, of that company, the satellite company, even after we鈥檝e engaged in discussions with them about this ... certainly contradicts their claims of being peace supporters,鈥 Bruce said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, responding to a question about the allegation, said Friday: 鈥淚 am not familiar with the situation you mentioned." However, he insisted China is seen as urging countries 鈥渢o make more efforts conducive to regional peace and stability.鈥
鈥淪ince the escalations in the Red Sea situation, China has been playing a positive role in de-escalating the situation,鈥 Lin said. 鈥淲ho is promoting talks for peace and de-escalating the tensions, and who is imposing sanctions and pressure?鈥
Chang Guang did not respond to request for comment. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned the company in 2023 for allegedly providing satellite images to the Russian mercenary force as it fought in Ukraine as part of Russia's full-scale invasion.
It remains unclear whether Chang Guang is linked to the Chinese government. The U.S. government in the past has used images taken by American commercial satellite companies to share with allies, like Ukraine, to avoid releasing its own top-secret pictures.
US strikes are part of monthlong intense campaign
has found the new U.S. operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump appears than that under former President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, from November 2023 until January of this year. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it. The Houthis also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.
The U.S. campaign shows no signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its . A second round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. is .
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Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
