ADEN: US President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday (Mar 15) over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, warning "hell will rain down upon you" if the Houthis do not abandon their campaign.

Trump also warned Iran, the Houthis' main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support to the group. He said if Iran threatened the United States "America will hold you fully accountable and, we won't be nice about it!"

The unfolding US strikes represent the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January, and came as the United States ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.

At least nine civilians were killed and nine injured in US strikes on Yemen's Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.

"The explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake. They terrified our women and children," one of the residents, who gave his name as Abdullah Yahia, told Reuters.

The Houthis launched more than 100 attacks targeting shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

Iran's other allies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been severely weakened since the start of the conflict. Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who was closely aligned with Tehran, was overthrown by rebels in December.

But during this period, Yemen's Houthis have remained resilient and on the offensive, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

The previous US administration of President Joe Biden had sought to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack vessels off its coast but limited the US actions.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Trump has authorized a more aggressive approach.

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