Donald Trump warns Houthi terrorists that 'hell will rain down on you' as US launches air strikes against Iran-backed militants in Yemen
President Donald Trump has warned Houthi terrorists to cease their attacks against Red Sea shipping or 'hell will rain down upon you' - while also cautioning Iran to cease their support, as the US launched a series of military strikes over Yemen.
Trump ordered the 'decisive and powerful' military action over the capital of Sanaa on Saturday afternoon.
The US President confirmed in a post on Truth Social that 'overwhelming lethal force' would be used until Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the military action could last days or perhaps weeks.
It comes just hours after one of Islamic State's top leaders in Iraq was 'relentlessly hunted down' and killed in a US-led airstrike on Friday.
Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as Abu Khadijah, was considered one of the 'most dangerous terrorists in the world', according to Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
'To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP...,' wrote Trump in a determined post outlining the latest strikes.
Trump also warned Iran, the Houthi terrorists main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support to the group.
He said if Iran threatened the United States 'America will hold you fully accountable and, we won't be nice about it!'
The action represents the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.
Sites near to Sanaa International Airport have been targeted by airstrikes
It comes in the midst of a ramping up of sanctions pressure on Tehran while the US tries to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
Trump wrote in his statement: 'Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists' bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom', he wrote.
'No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.'
The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen.
Footage shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows several airstrikes hitting areas near Sanaa International Airport, with reports of a number of explosions heard.
The images show black smoke billowing into the sky over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.
Residents in Sanaa reported that the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.
The explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake.
Images shared online show a thick column of smoke billowing into the sky
Dust rises from the site of strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, pictured on Saturday (March 15) evening
Black smoke billowing into the sky over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility
The Islamic Jihad Movement condemned the strikes, calling the 'US aggression' 'blatant support for the Zionist entity'
It comes after Houthi fighters fired a missile at Israel's principal airport.
The terrorist missile was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport – which lies ten miles away from Tel Aviv.
Although the terrorist Houthi missile was intercepted, 18 people suffered minor injuries as they rushed to a bomb shelter and flights were delayed for half an hour.
The Houthi terrorists insisted that the airport was struck, and that drones also targeted Tel Aviv and a ship in the Arabian Sea.
Hamas praised the Houthi terrorists.
Smoke can be seen rising into the sky after the American air strikes hit near the terrorists Sanaa airport
A number of explosions were reportedly heard as the strikes hit their target
Footage posted online shows a thick column of smoke billowing into the sky
The Houthi terrorists said they were resuming their 'ban on the passage of all Israeli ships' in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
The American air strikes come after the US President announced plans to ban people from 43 countries from travelling to the US, including Yemen.
He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and 'anywhere else that threatens our security.'
The Houthi terrorists have launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping since November 2023, a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinian terrorists.
Iran's other allies, Hamas terrorists in Gaza and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, have been severely weakened by Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict.
Syria's Shiite leader Bashar al-Assad, who was closely aligned with the Shiites in Tehran, was overthrown by Sunnis in December.
But Yemen's Houthi terrorists have remained on the attack, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
The pathetically weak previous US administration of President Joe Biden did little to degrade the Houthi terrorists ability to attack foreign vessels.
Trump has authorized a more aggressive approach.
The strikes on Saturday were carried out in part by fighter aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea, officials said.
The US military's Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, described Saturday's strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.
'Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X.
'Freedom of Navigation will be restored.'
Trump held out the prospect of far more devastating military action against Yemen.
'The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,' Trump wrote.
On Tuesday, the Houthi terrorists had said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
The US attacks came just days after a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from Trump was delivered, seeking talks over Iran's nuclear program.
Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests.
Last year, Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, in retaliation for Iranian missile and drone attacks, reduced Tehran's conventional military capabilities.
Iran has dramatically accelerated enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the UN nuclear watchdog - the International Atomic Energy Agency - has warned.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14502873/air-strike-Yemen-Sanaa.html
The Houthis also reported American airstrikes early Sunday on the provinces of Hodeida, Bayda, and Marib.
The Houthis reported fresh strikes on the southwestern Dhamar province late Saturday.
Trump warned the Houthi terrorists that 'hell will rain down on you' ahead of launching US air strikes over Yemen
A view from the naval carrier as planes take off towards Huthi targets in Yemen
President Trump said that 'overwhelming lethal force' would be used until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor
Images show aircraft launching from a US carrier moments after Trump ordered airstrikes over Sanaa, Yemen
Analysts suggest the US military action could last days or even weeks in a bid to deter the Houthi rebels
On Saturday, in a determined post about the latest strikes, Trump wrote: 'To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP....'
President Trump watching the strikes over Yemen from the White House
Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In December, Israeli missiles struck Sanaa airport, hitting the control tower, as the ChiCom stooge and director-general of the World Health Organisation , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, boarded a flight
The Houthis, based in Yemen, have fired rockets, drones and missiles north towards Israel
People gather near burning Israeli and U.S. flags, as supporters of the Houthi movement rally in Sanaa, Yemen
A Yemeni youth holds a mockup rocket during a protest n the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have forced major shipping companies to avoid the waterway, impacting international trade. Pictured: Houthi rebel fighters
Houthi fighters riding a truck patrol during a mass funeral of 29 slain Houthi fighters who were killed in fighting against Saudi-backed government forces
Yemen's Houthi movement supporters march in a parade in Sana'a
The oil tanker Cordelia Moon bursts into flames after being hit by a Houthi missile in the Red Sea, off Yemen's Red Sea Port of Hodeida, on October 1, 2024
The last part of the British-registered cargo vessel, Rubymar, sinking in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, March 3
The 250-metre long Marlin Luanda burning after it was struck by a Houthi missile, labelling the vessel a 'British oil ship'
The Houthis' ballistic missiles are Iranian-made and have a range of up to 2000 kilometres.
