Yemen Monitor/ Reuters:
The U.S. military has denied responsibility for an explosion that occurred on Sunday near a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, asserting that the blast was caused by a Houthi missile and not a U.S. airstrike.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command stated that the nearest U.S. strike that night was more than five kilometers away from the explosion site, and that the military’s damage assessment concluded that the cause was a “Houthi air defense missile” based on a review of local reports and videos documenting Arabic writing on missile fragments in the market.
In contrast, the Houthi-affiliated Ministry of Health announced the death of 12 people in the alleged U.S. airstrike in a Sana’a neighborhood, noting that the Old City of Sana’a is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The incident has raised concerns about civilian casualties, with three Democratic members of the Senate, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, writing to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, demanding accountability for those responsible for the loss of civilian lives.
These developments come amid escalating tensions between the US and the Houthi group, with President Donald Trump ordering an intensification of U.S. strikes on Yemen last month, stressing that his administration will continue to attack the Iran-aligned Houthis until they stop attacking shipping in the Red Sea.
Since November 2023, the Houthi group has launched drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea, claiming to target vessels linked to “Israel” in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the Israeli war has killed more than 51,000 people, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip.
