2025 Saada prison airstrike
| 2025 Saada prison airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Part of the March–April 2025 United States attacks in Yemen and the Red Sea crisis | |
Destroyed facility after the attack | |
Location of the facility | |
| Location | Saada, Saada Governorate, Yemen |
| Coordinates | 16°55′50″N 43°44′01″E / 16.930440°N 43.733537°E |
| Date | 28 April 2025 05:00 (UTC+3) |
| Target | Saada City Remand Prison |
Attack type | Airstrikes |
| Weapons | 3+ GBU-39 bombs |
| Deaths | 68 |
| Injured | 47 |
| Victims | African migrants |
| Perpetrator | |
On 28 April 2025, airstrikes launched by the United States Air Force struck a migrant detention centre operated by the Houthis in the city of Saada in Saada Governorate, Yemen. The attacks left at least 68 detained African migrants dead and 47 others injured. The incident was the largest single death toll for civilians in a U.S. military operation since the 2017 Mosul airstrike.
The detention centre was part of a larger compound that had been operating as a detention facility for years prior to the attack. The prison had received prior visits by representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, the latter which denied any military function within the compound. Witnesses and local activists reported at least three airstrikes hitting the detention centre in long succession in the early morning as its inhabitants were sleeping. Another nearby building of unknown use was also hit, though no casualties were reported. Within the wreckage of the prison, the remains of two to three GBU-39 precision-guided bombs were found.