The U.S. military said on Thursday a blast last week near a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen's capital city of Sanaa was caused by a Houthi rebels missile and not an American airstrike.
The Houthis said a dozen people were killed in the U.S. strike in a neighborhood of Sanaa. The Old City of Sanaa is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A U.S. Central Command spokesperson said the damage and casualties described by Yemen's Houthi officials "likely did occur" but they were not caused by a U.S. attack. The closest U.S. strike that night was more than three miles (5 km) away, the spokesperson said.
The U.S. 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," the spokesperson said.
Recent U.S. strikes have killed dozens, including 74 at an oil terminal in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under Trump so far, according to the local health ministry.
The U.S. military says the strikes aim to cut off the Houthi militant group's military and economic capabilities.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about civilian killings and three Democratic senators, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, wrote to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday demanding accounting for loss of civilian lives.
President Donald Trump ordered the intensification of U.S. strikes on Yemen last month, with his administration saying they will continue assaulting Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping.