‘Oops’: Trump shares video showing birds-eye view of attack on Yemen’s Houthis, says ’will never sink our ships again’

US President Donald Trump shared a video on his social media handles, purportedly showing an attack on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. He captioned that video: “These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack. Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!”

What the video showed

The black-and-white footage Trump posted to his Truth Social network shows several dozen human figures from an almost vertical angle. It appeared that images were shot using military drones or other loitering aircraft.

The people in the video could be seen gathering in a loose oval along a road. They were superimposed with a gun camera-style crosshair. A few seconds in, a bright flash appears in the middle of the scene, followed by billowing smoke.

The footage then cuts to a wider shot showing a column of smoke over the apparent impact site and several vehicles parked further up the road. The camera then cuts closer again to show a broad crater at the point of impact.

No bodies were readily identifiable.

US airstrikes on Houthis

American forces carried out major raids on Yemen in recent weeks in response to the group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping, news agency AFP reported. Earlier in March, the Associated Press reported that the US, under President Donald Trump, launched a new campaign of intense airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year. Their leadership described the attacks as aiming to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Trump, writing on his social media platform Truth Social, said his administration targeted the Houthis over their “unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism.”

He noted the disruption Houthi attacks have caused through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, key waterways for energy and cargo shipments between Asia and Europe through Egypt’s Suez Canal.

The US’ campaign is likely to continue, part of a wider pressure campaign by Trump now targeting the Houthis’ main benefactor, Iran, as well, suggested the report published on March 17.