SANAA, Mar 16: 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 Houthi 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, adding it would be held "fully accountable" for any continued threats.
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".
Yemenis described their panic and fear at the intense US strikes, even after years of conflict. �"AFP
