By Al-Fassel | 2025-04-25

US strikes targeting Houthi commanders, fighters and military infrastructure combine advanced intelligence methods with strict civilian protection measures, US military sources said.

Operating under Pentagon guidelines, each strike carried out as part of an air campaign against the Iran-backed group that began March 15 requires detailed advance planning to evaluate and minimize civilian harm, they said.

These protocols, paired with precision-guided weapons, have enabled targeted operations against military assets and combatants while protecting civilian areas.

The strategy has proven effective, US and Yemeni officials said.

"The [Houthi] militia has sustained casualties at various leadership levels," Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said in an April 9 post on X.

"These strikes have placed significant pressure on the leadership structure and created a state of fear and confusion within its ranks."

"They’re not going to admit the amount of their casualties or how much of their leadership structure has been decimated, but we know," US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said earlier this month of the Houthis.

US strikes have successfully targeted the Houthis' underground weapons storage facilities and radar, communications systems and military barracks, as well as the Ras Issa fuel port, which generated billions for the group.

Recent US strikes disabled al-Sawari weapons factory in Sanaa's Bani Matar district, where secondary explosions revealed the facility's military nature despite Houthi claims of civilian use, Al-Mashad al-Yamani reported April 17.

A strike targeting a meeting of senior Houthi commanders in the basement of arms dealer Rabee Jarman al-Saadi's residence killed key Houthi figures including Sanaa's facilities security chief Khalid al-Madani, it said.

'Double crime'

The Houthis have been bombarding civilian areas under their control and then blaming these attacks on US forces through systematic media manipulation, Yemen's government said April 21.

The government provided evidence of a series of attacks carried out by the Houthis where the group sought to hide its hand and reassign blame, referring to the attacks and accompanying disinformation campaign as a "double crime."

In one instance, Sanaa residents documented the Houthis launching a missile from within the city that struck a densely populated neighborhood.

In another, images of a missile from an impact site in the Jabal al-Mahwit area show crude Arabic markings inconsistent with US munitions specifications.

Crater analysis at Sanaa's Majel al-Dama cemetery showed damage patterns incompatible with US weapons' known capabilities.

After an attack on Sanaa's Farwa market, the Houthis imposed a tight security cordon, prevented media coverage and arrested citizens who documented the missile launch and aftermath, al-Eryani said.

This proves they were behind the attack, he said in an April 21 post on X, adding that the group aims to stir public anger to further its agenda, at the cost of civilian lives.