The United States military said on Thursday that a blast on Sunday near a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen's capital city of Sanaa was caused by a Houthi missile and not an American airstrike.
According to the Houthi-run health ministry, a dozen people were killed in the US strike in a neighborhood of Sanaa.
DAILY POST reports that the Old City of Sanaa is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Last month, President Donald Trump reportedly directed the intensification of US strikes on Yemen, with his administration saying they will continue assaulting Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping.
A US Central Command spokesperson said the damage and casualties described by Yemen's Houthi officials likely occurred but were not caused by a US attack, adding that the closest US strike that night was more than three miles (5 km) away.
The spokesperson said the US military assessed that the damage was caused by a Houthi air defense missile based on a review of local reporting, including videos documenting Arabic writing on the missile's fragments at the market, stressing that the Houthis subsequently arrested Yemenis.
The New York Times quoted a Houthi official as saying the American denial was an attempt to smear the Houthis.
According to the local health ministry, recent US strikes have killed dozens, including 74 at an oil terminal on Thursday in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under Trump so far.
The US military said the strikes aim to cut off the Houthi militant group's military and economic capabilities.
