At least 19 people were killed as US President Donald Trump initiated extensive military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday, accusing them of piracy, violence, and terrorism targeting Americans, India Today reported.

This comes almost two weeks after the US reclassified the Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization.

“Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform.

Trump stated that the US would employ “overwhelming lethal force” against the Houthis, accusing them of ‘choking’ transportation through the Suez Canal, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden, disrupting trade and commerce and “attacking” the principle of Freedom of Navigation.

“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends,” Trump said.