Yemen’s Houthi group announced on Wednesday that it had downed an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the central Marib region using a locally made surface-to-air missile. This incident marks the sixth such downing in the past six months, according to the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, The announcement was broadcast on Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.
Sarea reiterated the group’s commitment to enhancing its military defense capabilities to “counter the US-UK coalition aggression against our country.” He also pledged continued support for the Palestinian people “against the Israeli aggression until the conflict and blockade stop.”
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The Houthi media outlet plans to air a video of the drone’s downing, continuing its practice of broadcasting footage of similar incidents.
US media sources, however, cited an anonymous US defense official who claimed that “the US Air Force has not lost any aircraft operating within US Central Command’s area of responsibility,” without providing further details.
The escalation comes after the Houthis began targeting vessels linked to Israel with anti-ship missiles and drones last November, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In response, the US-UK naval coalition has been conducting air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets since January. This has led to an expansion of Houthi attacks to include US and British commercial and naval vessels.