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US Strikes In Yemen Kill 31 As Trump Vows To End Huthi Attacks

Published

10 months ago

March 16, 2025

Editor

The first US strikes against Yemen’s Huthis since Donald Trump took office killed 31 people, the rebels said Sunday, with the US president warning “hell will rain down upon” the Iran-backed group if it did not stop attacking shipping.

The Huthis, who have attacked Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, said children were among those killed.

An AFP photographer in the rebel-held capital Sanaa heard explosions and saw plumes of smoke rising.

Attacks on Sanaa, as well as on areas in Saada, Al-Bayda and Radaa, killed at least 31 people and wounded 101, “most of whom were children and women”, Huthi health ministry spokesperson Anis Al-Asbahi said.

Footage on Huthi media showed children and a woman among those being treated in a hospital emergency room, including a dazed girl with blackened legs wrapped in bandages.

Trump, in a post on social media, vowed to “use overwhelming lethal force” to end the Huthi attacks, which the rebels say are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war.

“To all Huthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” he said.

Trump also issued a stern warning to the group’s main backer.

“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY!” he said.

“Do NOT threaten the American People, their President… or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”

The Huthis vowed the strikes “will not pass without response”, while Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi condemned the deaths and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate Tehran’s foreign policy.

The Huthi Ansarullah website slammed what it called Washington’s “criminal brutality”.

US Central Command, which posted videos of fighter jets taking off and a bomb demolishing a compound, said “precision strikes” were launched to “defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation”.

‘Escalation with escalation’ –
“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to confront escalation with escalation,” the Huthi political bureau said.

The rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the United States.

They have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Huthis had “attacked US warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023”.

The campaign put a major strain on the vital route, which normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies to take a costly detour around southern Africa.

The Palestinian group Hamas, which has praised the Huthi support, lashed out at the US strikes, branding them “a stark violation of international law and an assault on the country’s sovereignty and stability”.

Iran “strongly condemned the brutal air strikes” in a statement, denouncing them as a “gross violation of the principles of the UN Charter”.

The head of the country’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, said: “Iran will not wage war, but if anyone threatens, it will give appropriate, decisive and conclusive responses.

‘Political dialogue’ –
The United States has launched several rounds of strikes on Huthi targets.

After halting their attacks when a ceasefire took effect in Gaza in January, the Huthis announced on Tuesday that they would resume them until Israel lifted its blockade of aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.

Trump’s statement did not reference the dispute over Israel, but focused on previous Huthi attacks on merchant shipping.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration reclassified the Huthis as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, banning any US interaction with it.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Moscow is close to Tehran.

“Continued Huthi attacks on US military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated,” Rubio told Lavrov, according to the State Department.

Russia’s foreign ministry said that “Lavrov stressed the need for an immediate cessation of the use of force and the importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue… (to) prevent further bloodshed”.

The Huthis captured Sanaa in 2014 and were poised to overrun most of the rest of the country before a Saudi-led coalition intervened.

The war devastated the already impoverished nation.

Fighting has largely been on hold since a 2022 ceasefire, but the promised peace process has stalled in the face of Huthi attacks on Israel and Israel-linked shipping.

News

Trump’s Airstrikes: Halt Military Cooperation With US Immediately – Sheikh Gumi Tells Tinubu Govt

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on the Federal Government to immediately halt all military cooperation with the United States following reported US airstrikes.

Gumi warned that American involvement could worsen Nigeria’s security challenges and undermine national sovereignty.

Gumi made the call in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Friday.

He said while Islam permits the fight against terrorism, such actions should only be carried out by what he described as “clean hands,” arguing that the United States lacks the moral authority to lead such efforts because of its global military record.

According to the cleric, Nigeria made a mistake by allowing foreign powers to play a role in its counterterrorism operations, insisting that “terrorists do not truly fight terrorists” and that such interventions often result in civilian casualties and hidden political motives.

Gumi warned that allowing Nigeria to become a theatre of war would attract anti-US forces into the country, further destabilising it.

He also cautioned that US involvement, particularly under claims of protecting Christians, could polarise the country along religious lines.

The cleric further argued that airstrikes alone cannot defeat terrorism, stressing that effective counterterrorism requires strong ground operations, which he said Nigeria has enough personnel to carry out if properly organised.

“This is the mistake Nigeria has made. Terrorists don’t fight terrorists in truth; they may only kill innocent people and have ulterior motives behind the drama of fighting ‘terror’.

“As a principle, no nation should allow its land to be a theater of war. And no nation should allow its neighbors to be their enemies.

“If Nigeria wants military assistance, China, Turkey, and Pakistan can do the job effectively,” part of his statement reads.

News

Shehu Sani Reacts To Trump’s Military Strikes In Nigeria

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Former lawmaker, senator Shehu Sani, has reacted to reports of United States military strikes on terrorist targets in Nigeria’s North-West, saying foreign powers cannot permanently handle the country’s security challenges.

Sani made the remarks on Friday via his X handle while responding to a post by the United States Africa Command, AFRICOM, which indicated that the strikes were carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

According to him, if the reported strikes were indeed a joint operation with Nigerian security agencies, then such action was justifiable, given the threat posed by terrorist groups in the region.

He described terrorists operating in parts of northern Nigeria as “cancerous cells,” stressing that they survive through violence and should be confronted decisively.

Sani also dismissed narratives suggesting that terrorist attacks target only one religious group, describing such claims as false and misleading.

He said: “If actually, the military strikes against the terrorists targets in the North Western part of Nigeria were a joint operation with the ‘Nigerian Authorities’ as posted by the US AFRICOM on their verified X handle, then it’s a conscionable action.

“Terrorists have become cancerous cells in our part of the country.They live by the sword.The narrative that the evil terrorists only targets one faith, remains absolutely false and misleading.

“Again, the ultimate security and peace in our country lies with ourselves and not with the US or any foreign power. They can complimentarily or unilaterally strike, but they can’t eternally fight our battles.”