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SANAA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia on Monday condemned the move by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to brand it as "a terrorist group," head of the Houthi revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said in a statement.

"(U.S. President Donald) Trump administration's designation of Ansar Allah as a terrorist group is condemned ... and we have the right to respond," al-Houthi said in a statement through the group-run Al Masirah TV.

"Trump administration's policy is the source of terrorism," he stressed.

Late on Sunday, Pompeo announced that his department would notify the Congress of its intention to designate the Yemeni Houthi group, known as Ansar Allah, as a foreign terrorist organization.

Pompeo also designated three leaders of the Houthi group, including its chief Abdulmalik al-Houthi, on the terrorist list.

In response to criticisms by humanitarian aid agencies, Pompeo said that his department has prepared a plan to prevent impact of the move on the humanitarian activities and the supply of aid to Yemen.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million and pushed Yemen to the brink of starvation. Enditem