Yemen Houthi media says toll rises to 68 after US strikes on migrant centre

Houthi-controlled media in Yemen said Monday that US strikes hit a migrant detention centre in the movement's stronghold of Saada, killing at least 68 people.

The US military has hammered the Iran-backed Houthis with near-daily strikes since March 15 in an operation dubbed "Rough Rider", seeking to end the threat they pose to vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis launched strikes targeting “Israel” and Western vessels in the Red Sea, in what they describe as solidarity with the Palestinians, since Oct. 7.

On Sunday, the US said it had hit more than 800 targets in Yemen since mid-March, claiming it killed hundreds of Houthis including members of the group's leadership.

Just hours later, Houthi media said the latest barrage by US forces had hit a migrant detention centre.

"The civil defence has announced that 68 African migrants were killed and 47 others wounded in the US attack targeting a centre for illegal migrants in the city of Saada," the Houthis' Al-Masirah TV said.

According to a statement cited by Al-Masirah from the Houthi administration's interior ministry, the centre housed "115 migrants, all from Africa".