US Airstrike on Yemen Prison Kills Dozens of Migrants, Houthis Alleged

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a U.S. airstrike struck a prison holding African migrants in Saada governorate, killing at least 30 people, according to their al-Masirah news channel. Graphic footage aired by the channel showed bodies and injured survivors amid debris-scattered cement walls, with an al-Masirah correspondent reporting around 100 migrants were detained at the site. The U.S. military’s Central Command, which acknowledged conducting over 800 strikes in its “Operation Rough Rider” campaign, offered no immediate comment on the allegations, citing operational security.

The strike, in a Houthi stronghold, adds to the toll on African migrants, mainly Ethiopians, who risk Yemen’s war-torn landscape to reach Saudi Arabia for work. Caught in the decade-long conflict, migrants face detention, abuse, and death, with the Houthis reportedly profiting from smuggling them across borders. The incident recalls a 2022 Saudi-led coalition strike on a migrant detention facility that killed 66, which the UN criticized as avoidable, noting the Houthis also killed 16 fleeing detainees. Monday’s attack is likely to renew scrutiny of U.S. operations amid Trump administration talks with Iran, the Houthis’ key backer, over its nuclear program.

U.S. strikes, launched from the USS Harry S. Truman and USS Carl Vinson, target Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel, with a recent strike on Ras Isa port killing 74 and disrupting Houthi revenue, Central Command said. The Houthis, part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” reported eight deaths from overnight strikes on Yemen’s capital. Meanwhile, the group tightened information control, ordering residents to surrender Starlink internet devices, critical for communication in conflict zones, under threat of arrest.