U.S. Central Command is reviewing whether a military strike conducted in Yemen hit a migrant detention center that allegedly resulted in dozens of deaths.
The airstrike in question occurred in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a Houthi stronghold, and it allegedly killed 68 people and wounded nearly 50 others.
“CENTCOM is aware of the claims of civilian casualties related to the U.S. strikes in Yemen, and we take those claims very seriously,” a defense official told the Washington Examiner. “We are currently conducting our battle-damage assessment and inquiry into those claims.”
A Department of Defense official told the Washington Examiner: “CENTCOM is conducting strikes across multiple locations of Iran-backed Houthi locations every day and night in Yemen. This sustained, aggressive series of operations is designed to restore freedom of navigation and American deterrence. The U.S. has hit targets in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen, destroying command and control facilities, weapons manufacturing facilities, and advanced weapons storage locations. We have confirmed the death of several Houthi leaders. The Administration has been clear; we are holding the Houthis, and Iran who supports them, accountable.
“Operations are ongoing and battle damage assessments are still being conducted. The Department of Defense takes all allegations seriously and has a process in place to investigate them. We have nothing additional to provide on this.”
The United States began an aggressive military campaign, known as Operation Rough Rider, against the Houthis on March 15 to restore deterrence and end the group’s yearlong attempt to shut down global shipping through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Yemen Red Crescent Society have been evacuating wounded people to nearby hospitals and overseeing the dignified management of the dead.
“It is unthinkable that while people are detained and have nowhere to escape, they can also be caught in the line of fire,” said Christine Cipolla, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Yemen. “This attack underscores how civilians in Yemen are increasingly exposed to death, grievous injury, and deepening psychological trauma.”
CENTCOM officials said Sunday that U.S. forces have “struck over 800 targets,” killed “hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” and destroyed multiple command-and-control facilities, air defense systems, and more. U.S. strikes also destroyed the Ras Isa port’s ability to accept fuel.
The military has released few details about the operations to date. In the Sunday press release, a spokesperson said, “We have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”
A United Nations spokesperson said the organization was “deeply alarmed” by the apparent strike and the casualties that resulted from it.
“Two nearby hospitals have already received more than 50 injured people, many of them critically wounded,” said Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the U.N. secretary general. “These numbers could increase as search-and-rescue efforts continue, which are being led by frontline responders.”
In February, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth loosened the restrictions on airstrike targets and the approval process.
“President Trump will not hesitate to eliminate any terrorist who is plotting to kill Americans,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement at the time to the Washington Examiner. “We won’t tolerate Biden-era bureaucracy preventing our warfighters from doing their job. America is back in the business of counterterrorism and killing Jihadists.”
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The secretary’s directive eased policy constraints on airstrikes and the deployment of U.S. Special Forces.
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the Joint Staff director for operations, told reporters in mid-March that they have “a much broader set of targets” and have achieved a faster “tempo of operations” due to those changes.
