Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed responsibility for shooting down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over al-Bayda province in southern Yemen, Fox News reports.
Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Yemen’s Houthi movement, which controls Yemen’s capital and the most populous areas of the Arabian Peninsula, said in a televised address on Tuesday that his army had successfully carried out the attack. Saree said the drone was shot down by a locally made surface-to-air missile and the Houthis would release video footage to confirm this claim.
The US military did not immediately comment on the claim.
If confirmed, it would be the second MQ-9 Reaper drone the Houthis have shot down in the past week as they intensified their campaign over the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Last Friday, the Houthis claimed to have shot down a US drone over Marib province, hours after footage apparently showing the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper circulated online. And on Saturday morning, the Houthis also attacked a vessel in the Red Sea.
The US military has lost at least five drones since the start of Yemen’s civil war in 2014, when the Houthis took over much of the country’s north and its capital Sanaa.
The Reapers, which cost about $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet and have a flight time of up to 24 hours before they need to land.
Houthi attacks and the Red Sea crisis
The Yemen’s Houthis have also stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza that has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Since November, the Houthis have carried out more than 50 attacks on shipping, hijacking one ship and sinking another, according to the US Maritime Administration.
Shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has decreased significantly due to constant attacks.
Last week, rebels said they fired a missile at a US Navy destroyer in the Red Sea. However, the US military said the warship intercepted the anti-ship ballistic missile.
