AIR strikes by the US on a Yemen fuel terminal have killed 74 people, it has been claimed.

The attack on the port of Ras Isa on Thursday also left 171 people injured, the Houthi-run health ministry said.

Huge fireballs were seen erupting in the area as the strikes hit, with rescue teams continuing to search the site yesterday.

It is the deadliest attack since President Donald Trump took office in January.

He had previously vowed to keep targeting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they halted attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The US military said the strikes on the terminal, with a capacity of three million barrels of oil, was intended to cut off a source of fuel for the group.

US Central Command did not comment on the casualty figure claimed by the health ministry.

It said on X: “The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen.”

Trump previously issued a fiery threat to the Iran-backed terror group on Sunday and warned them it was “time to hide”.

The US unleashed ‘Bunker Buster’ missiles on the Houthis from B-2 stealth bombers, earlier this week.

How the Houthis are connected to Iran

THE Houthi rebels have spent months terrorising the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on vessels and warships.

The Shia militant group, which now controls large swaths of Yemen, spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.

However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, they sprung from relative obscurity to holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage – turning one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.

Houthis, who are funded by the Iranian regime, operate on rudimentary intelligence and military equipment provided by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Their warped battle cry is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.

The group’s chiefs have previously said their main targets are Israel, and its allies the US and Britain.

And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US and UK strikes blitzing their strongholds in Yemen – Iran’s terror proxy appears undeterred.