US military to limit disclosing details on strikes in Yemen

WASHINGTON - The US military said on Sunday it will not reveal specific details about its military strikes in Yemen, citing what it called the need "to preserve operational security" while also saying the strikes had "lethal effects" on Houthi rebels.

Republican President Donald Trump ordered the intensification of US strikes on Yemen last month, with his administration saying it will continue assaulting Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping.

Recent US strikes have killed dozens, including 74 at an oil terminal in mid-April in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under Trump so far, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

Rights advocates have raised concerns about civilian killings and three Democratic senators, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, wrote to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday demanding an accounting for loss of civilian lives. Hegseth has also come under fire for using the unclassified messaging system Signal to discuss Yemen attack plans.

"To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we've done or what we will do," the US Central Command said in a statement.

The military said it has struck over 800 targets since mid-March that it says killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders as well as destroyed the militant group's facilities.

The military statement said the strikes "have destroyed multiple command-and-control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities, and advanced weapons storage locations."

Washington says the strikes aim to cut off Houthi military and economic capabilities while minimizing civilian harm.

It said on Thursday that an April 20 blast near a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yemen's capital Sanaa was caused by a Houthi missile and not an American airstrike. The Houthis said a dozen people were killed in that incident and dismissed the US denial.

The Houthis have taken control of swathes of Yemen over the past decade.

Since November 2023, they have launched attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel.

They say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza where Israel's war has killed over 51,000, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israel.