Houthis say 8 wounded in US strikes on Yemen capital

Smoke billows from the site of a U.S. air strike in Sanaa, Yemen April 26, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 27 April 2025
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Houthis say 8 wounded in US strikes on Yemen capital

  • Since US President Donald Trump took office, those attacks have intensified, with almost daily strikes for the past month

SANAA: Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Saturday that a series of US strikes on territory under their control including the Yemeni capital Sanaa had wounded at least eight people.
“Eight citizens, including two children, were wounded when the American enemy targeted a residential district” west of Al-Rawda in Sanaa, said the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
It cited the Houthi administration’s health ministry as the source for what it said was a provisional toll.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa reported earlier Saturday having heard explosions.
The Houthis, who control large parts of the war-torn country, also reported strikes in other parts of the country, including their stronghold Saada in the north.
They said the fuel port of Ras Issa in the western Hodeida region — where they say 80 people were killed in strikes just over a week ago — had also been hit.
The Houthis, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, portray themselves as defenders of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
They have regularly launched missiles and drones at Israel and at cargo vessels plying the key Red Sea trade route.
The US military has since January 2024 been attacking their positions, saying it is targeting the “Iran-backed Houthi terrorists” to stop their attacks.
Since US President Donald Trump took office, those attacks have intensified, with almost daily strikes for the past month.
On Saturday, the Houthis said they had launched a missile and two drones at Israel, where the army said it had intercepted a missile from Yemen and a drone coming from the east.
On Saturday, CENTCOM, the US military command in the region, posted footage from the US aircraft carriers Harry S. Truman and Carl Vinson conducting strikes against the Houthis.
 

 


Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Updated 28 December 2025
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Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

  • Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
  • Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia

A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.

The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.

Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.

The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.

They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.

The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”

Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.

Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.