Videos Reveal at Least 200 Houthis Killed in U.S. Airstrikes
At least 82 Houthi officers in addition to over 120 fighters have been killed in U.S. airstrikes since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered attacks against the Iran-backed group in Yemen in mid-March, according to a Newsweek analysis of videos from funerals and official announcements.
A Houthi spokesperson told Newsweek that there had been losses, but they were small compared to those in an earlier war against forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Why It Matters The number of officers killed is a measure of the damage done to the Iran-backed Houthis in the first major military assault ordered under Trump's presidency.
Despite the attacks, the group has continued to launch missiles against Israel and to announce attacks on U.S. aircraft carriers and the shooting down of American drones.
Trump has vowed to destroy the group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. It has proven a threat to global maritime navigation, disrupting a vital global trading route through the Red Sea with hundreds of missile attacks on commercial vessels since eruption of the Gaza War between Israel and Hamas in 2023.
What To Know
At least 78 officers ranking from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel were killed in U.S. airstrikes on Yemen since March. Although not among Houthis' top commanders, they played leading roles and all were given significant funeral processions.
The losses of four more senior officers were also announced. In addition, there were funerals for at least 120 Houthi fighters, which would bring the total military death toll to over 200. Newsweek was unable to establish whether the number of funerals broadcast for fighters is as good a reflection of the total number killed as it is for their officers.
U.S. estimates have put the total Houthi combatant toll in the hundreds. The Houthis have reported scores of people killed in U.S. strikes and said that many of them were civilians, but have not said how many of them were fighters.
