Houthis Hold Funeral for 17 Killed in Recent US and British Strikes

The Houthis held a funeral on Saturday for 17 of its members who were killed by recent US and British strikes on Yemen.

“In a dignified funeral procession, the bodies of several martyrs of the nation, armed forces, and security forces who were martyred in the American-British aggression airstrikes, were mourned,” Yemen’s Saba news agency reported.

According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, the announcement of the funeral marks the second time the Houthis reported fatalities in the US and British bombings since they started. After the first round was launched on January 12, the Houthis said five of its members were killed.

Since January 12, the US has launched around 30 rounds of missile strikes on Yemen. Some have been single unilateral US strikes, while in other cases, the US and Britain have joined together to launch heavier bombings to hit dozens of targets. The strikes have been launched from both fighter jets and warships in the Red Sea.

US Central Command announced on Saturday that it launched more strikes in Yemen, claiming to target Houthi missile and drones that were deemed a threat. “On Feb. 10, between 4 – 5 pm, (Sanaa time), US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully conducted self-defense strikes against two unmanned surface vessels (USV) and three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) north of Hodeidah, Yemen,” the command said.

The new US war against the Houthis has done nothing to deter the Yemeni group. The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have vowed they won’t stop targeting Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea until the slaughter in Gaza comes to an end. They also began targeting American and British commercial shipping once the US and UK started the bombing campaign.

President Biden previously acknowledged that strikes against the Houthis weren’t working but vowed they would continue anyway. “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” he said.

The US backed a Saudi/UAE-led coalition against the Houthis in a brutal war that killed 377,000 people between 2015 and 2022. During that time, the Houthis only became a more formidable fighting force and developed missile and drone technology that gave them the ability to hit Saudi oil infrastructure. A ceasefire between the Saudis and Houthis has held relatively well since April 2022, but new US sanctions are now blocking the implementation of a peace deal.