Yemen’s Houthis claimed Tuesday to have shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Marib province. The drone, an advanced unmanned aircraft used for surveillance and strikes, was hit by a locally made missile, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement aired on the Houthis’ al-Masirah TV.
The US military acknowledged reports of the drone being downed but declined to provide details, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The Houthis have claimed to have shot down 20 MQ-9s over Yemen, with 16 allegedly destroyed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, but US officials have not confirmed these numbers.
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The reported shootdown came as American forces continued their air campaign against the Houthis, who have been attacking international shipping. Since November, the Houthis have launched more than 100 attacks on merchant vessels, sinking two and killing four sailors. They have also fired on US Navy warships, though none have been hit.
President Donald Trump defended the strikes, posting Monday on Truth Social, “We hit them every day and night—Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed.”
The US campaign against the Houthis became the subject of controversy last week when Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he had inadvertently been added to a commercial Signal group chat where top US officials were discussing detailed plans for striking the Houthis. Among the concerns raised about that security breach was the possibility that, if such details had been accessed by a group with ties to the Houthis, they could have used information about strike timing to down US drones or even US fighter planes.