US military, be warned: after years of fighting in rugged terrain and weathering thousands of air strikes, Yemen's Huthi rebels are not to be taken lightly, experts say.

Despite a heavy US bombardment announced by President Donald Trump that left dozens dead, the battle-hardened, Iran-backed Huthis remain defiant, and with good reason.

The group from the mountainous north, which controls swathes of impoverished Yemen, has withstood a decade of war against a well-armed, Saudi-led international coalition.

If anything, the Huthis, from the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam, are now even more entrenched, and were moving towards a peace process with Riyadh before the Gaza war put talks on hold.

"The challenge of defeating the Huthis should not be underestimated," said Elisabeth Kendall, director of Girton College at the University of Cambridge, calling them "resilient fighters".

Saturday's US attacks killed 53 people and wounded 98, according to Huthi authorities, who said they hit back with multiple strikes on a US aircraft carrier group.

The US action was aimed at ending Huthi threats to Red Sea shipping after the rebels warned they would resume their months-long campaign, which they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

On Monday, tens of thousands of people joined........

© Al Monitor