Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed on April 28 that a U.S.-led airstrike on a prison holding African migrants killed at least 30 people. The U.S. military has not commented on the claims.
The airstrike in Yemen's Saada province, a stronghold of the Houthi rebels, is the latest incident in Yemen's decade-long war, which has also killed African migrants from Ethiopia and other countries who risk their lives crossing through Yemen to seek work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The attack is likely to raise questions about the US campaign's activity targeting rebel targets as the administration of US President Donald Trump negotiates with the rebels' main ally, Iran, over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
The US military's Central Command, in a statement before news of the airstrike broke, said it intended to defend its defense policy, without providing details about its air campaign.
"To maintain operational security, we intentionally do not disclose information about our current and future operations," US Central Command said.
The Houthi rebels' al-Masirah TV station released footage of the attack. The station reported that around 100 migrants were being held in the prison that was hit, and later reported that 30 were killed.
The number of casualties could not be independently confirmed.
The US military has previously admitted that it has carried out over 800 strikes in Yemen since it began its air campaign against Houthi rebels.
The US is attacking Yemen because of attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea, a key route for global trade, but also because of attacks on Israel./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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