U.S. strikes on a Yemeni oil port kill 74 people, Houthis say

U.S. airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen's Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the group said Friday, marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump's new campaign targeting the rebels.

Assessing the toll of Trump's campaign, which began March 15, has been incredibly difficult as the U.S. military's Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels strictly control access to areas attacked and don't publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites.

But the strike on the Ras Isa oil port, which sent massive fireballs shooting into the night sky, represented a major escalation for the U.S. campaign. The Houthis immediately released graphic footage of those killed in the attack.

In a statement, Central Command said that "U.S. forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years."

"This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully," it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties and declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press regarding civilians reportedly being killed.

The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other areas.

Strikes spark intense fires

The Ras Isa port, a collection of three oil tanks and refining equipment, sits in Yemen's Hodeidah governorate along the Red Sea. NASA satellites that track forest fires showed an intense blaze early Friday at the site just off Kamaran Island, targeted by intense U.S. airstrikes over the past few days.

The Houthis's Al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath, showing corpses strewn across the site. It said paramedic and civilians workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires.

The Ras Isa port also is the terminus of an oil pipeline stretching to Yemen's energy-rich Marib governorate, which remains held by allies of Yemen's exiled government. The Houthis expelled that government from Yemen's capital, Sanaa, back in 2015. However, oil exports have been halted by the decade-long war and the Houthis have used Ras Isa to bring in oil.

In a statement, the Houthis denounced the U.S. attack as "completely unjustified aggression" and a violation of Yemen's sovereignty and independence.

On April 9, the U.S. State Department issued a warning about oil shipments to Yemen.

"The United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports," it said.

The attack follows Israeli airstrikes on the Houthis, which previously hit port and oil infrastructure used by the rebels after their attacks on Israel.

The attack represented the deadliest known attack so far in the campaign, analysts said. However, "it's been so difficult to assess the fatalities," said Luca Nevola, the senior analyst for Yemen and the Gulf at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Chinese firm accused of aiding Houthi attacks

Meanwhile, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in a briefing with journalists accused Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., a commercial satellite image provider, of "directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests."

Bruce did not elaborate in detail, but acknowledged a story by the Financial Times that quoted anonymous American officials saying the firm linked to the People's Liberation Army has provided images allowing the rebels to target U.S. warships and commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea corridor.

"Beijing's support, by the way, of that company, the satellite company, even after we've engaged in discussions with them about this ... certainly contradicts their claims of being peace supporters," Bruce said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, responding to a question about the allegation, said Friday: "I am not familiar with the situation you mentioned." However, he insisted China is seen as urging countries "to make more efforts conducive to regional peace and stability."

U.S. strikes part of ongoing campaign

An AP review has found the new U.S. operation against the Houthis under President Trump appears more extensive than that under former president Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.

The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting "Israeli" ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it. The Houthis also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.

The U.S. campaign shows no signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. A second round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. is due to happen Saturday in Rome.