US air strikes on a key oil terminal on Yemen’s Red Sea coast controlled by the Houthi movement have killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others, the Houthi-run health ministry said yesterday.
The US military said it had destroyed Ras Isa “to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue”.
The Houthi-led government in north-west Yemen said the terminal was a civilian facility and that the strikes constituted a “war crime”.
It was the deadliest known attack since President Donald Trump ordered an intensification of the US bombing campaign last month in response to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel linked to the Gaza war.
Several hours after the strikes on Ras Isa, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. Sirens sounded in several Israeli areas but there were no reports of any casualties or damage.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that 14 air strikes hit Ras Isa late on Thursday.
Videos posted online purportedly showed several explosions, large fires and destroyed fuel tankers at the facility, which is about 60km (35 miles) north of the Red Sea city of Hudaydah.
“We ran away. The strikes came one after the other, then everything was on fire,” one man who said he worked there told the channel.
On Thursday afternoon, Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said the death toll had reached 74, adding that rescue teams were still searching for casualties.
Al-Masirah had earlier cited local health authorities as saying many of the dead were workers at Ras Isa. It also reported that five paramedics were killed in secondary US strikes as they arrived at the scene.
The casualty reports could not be immediately verified, but graphic footage from Al-Masirah appeared to show at least 10 charred bodies near the burning tankers, including one driver, as well as men being treated for serious burns in hospital. BBC
