Houthis Claim To Shoot Down US Reaper Drone Over Northern Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi group announced on Monday that it shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the northern province of Saada. According to a statement by the Houthis, the drone was downed in the eastern part of Saada, an area that has seen significant conflict.

Houthi-run al-Masirah TV aired footage of the drone’s wreckage, claiming it was the 11th US drone they have shot down since October of last year. The US military has not yet commented on this latest incident.

The Houthis have been engaged in ongoing hostilities with the US military since November last year, after the group began launching missile and drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they claim were linked to Israel. These actions were declared by the Houthis as a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

In response, a US-British naval coalition in the region has conducted regular airstrikes against Houthi positions since January, targeting the group in an effort to deter further attacks. The Houthis seized control of northern Yemen in 2014, forcing the internationally recognized Yemeni government out of the capital, Sanaa, and sparking the country’s ongoing civil war.