U.S. Denies Responsibility in Yemen Explosion, Points to Houthi Missile

A deadly blast on the outskirts of a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen's capital occurred on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of 12 individuals as reported by health officials linked to the Houthi-led governance.

Official U.S. Response

Vivian Nereim, reporting from Riyadh, and Shuaib Almosawa, from Sana, uncovered that a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command stated that the explosion was a result of a Houthi missile. This contradicts earlier claims by health ministry representatives loyal to the Houthis, who accused the United States of conducting an airstrike on a crowded district in Sana that left 12 dead and 30 wounded. Situated next to Sana’s Old City, renowned for its historic architecture, the blast caused significant devastation.

U.S. Military Movements and Assertions

Dave Eastburn of the U.S. Central Command clarified that the consequences depicted by local health officials were not due to an American military action. He acknowledged that while U.S. operations were ongoing above Sana on that night, no strikes were closer than three miles from the incident site.

The Pentagon's conclusion that a 'Houthi Air Defense missile' caused the devastation partly relied on analyses of local reports, which included video evidence showing Arabic script on missile debris discovered at the scene. However, the released statements lacked supplementary video or solid evidence of this claim.

Video Evidence and Houthi Response

An initial assessment by The New York Times of reports and open-source media in Yemen identified footage exhibiting a missile shard inscribed in Arabic, yet this was from a different locale than the reported market area in Sana’s Old City.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, associated with the Houthis’ political bureau, insisted in a telephone conversation that the American denial was a strategic maneuver to defame the group. He firmly maintained that the United States was responsible for the attack on the neighborhood on Sunday, likening it to previous instances where ports, cemeteries, and residential areas were targeted, allegedly resulting in numerous fatalities.