Air strikes by the United States on Yemen’s Ras Isa oil port have killed at least 38 people in what is one of the deadliest attacks on the country by U.S. forces.

Al Masirah TV said the strikes on Thursday also wounded 102 people, citing the country’s Hodeidah Health Office.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the air strikes were intended to cut off Ansarullah’s source of fuel and revenue.

“The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis,” CENTCOM said in a post on social media.

The Pentagon did not comment on the rising death toll in response to a query from the Reuters news agency.

Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from Yemen’s capital Sanaa, said the U.S. air strikes hit several different areas, but were most concentrated around the port facility.

“The first four air raids were waged while the people were working,” he said. The air raids took employees by surprise, he said, including truck drivers who were on the scene at the time.

The attack has drawn widespread condemnation across Yemen due to the civilian deaths and the strategic importance of Ras Isa, al-Attab said.