ISTANBUL

US airstrikes have intensified across Yemen, with President Donald Trump’s administration claiming to have eliminated key Houthi figures, including their top missile commander.

Though the Pentagon has yet to confirm specific targets, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday that American forces have "taken out key Houthi leadership, including their head missileer."

The Houthis have not acknowledged the loss, though the group has a history of downplaying setbacks while exaggerating attacks on US warships.

"We’ve hit their headquarters," Waltz told the CBS News program Face the Nation. "We’ve hit communications nodes, weapons factories and even some of their over-the-water drone production facilities."

One of the latest strikes reportedly hit a building in a western district of the capital Sanaa, killing at least one person and injuring 13 others, according to the Houthi-run SABA news agency.

Footage released by the rebels showed a collapsed structure with bloodstains amid the rubble.

The US bombardment, now in its tenth consecutive day, comes in response to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and threats to resume targeting "Israeli" vessels in the Red Sea.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched over 100 strikes on merchant ships, sinking two and killing four sailors. While they have fired on US warships, none have been successfully hit.

The latest air campaign follows years of escalating tensions, as the Iran-backed rebels continue to tighten their grip on northern Yemen while battling economic turmoil and internal dissent.