Suspected U.S. airstrikes in Yemen kill at least 6 people, Houthi rebels say

Suspected U.S. airstrikes target Houthi rebels in Yemen amid tensions with Iran, killing at least 67 people.

Suspected U.S. airstrikes battered rebel-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday (April 2, 2025), with the Houthis saying the attacks killed at least six people across the country.

Read Editorial:Recipe for failure: On the U.S. and Yemen 

Meanwhile, satellite images taken Wednesday (April 2) and analysed by The Associated Press show at least six stealth B-2 Spirit bombers now stationed at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — a highly unusual deployment amid the Yemen campaign and tensions with Iran.

The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under U.S. President Donald Trump, targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 67 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.

The campaign showed no signs of stopping as the Trump administration again linked its airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. While so far giving no specifics about the campaign and its targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at more than 200.

“Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said. “They've taken out critical members who were launching strikes on naval ships and on commercial vessels and this operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored.”

The Houthis haven't acknowledged the loss of any of its leadership so far — and the US hasn't identified any official by name. However, messages released by the leak of a Signal conversation between Trump administration officials and their public comments suggest a leader in the rebels' missile forces had been targeted.