Dubai: Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Monday they shot down another American-made MQ-9 Reaper drone over the country, with videos purportedly showing a surface-to-air
missile striking it. The US military did not immediately acknowledge losing any aircraft.
The claimed attack comes as the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip approaches.
The Houthis have targeted ships travelling through the Red Sea over the war as US-led airstrikes pound their positions in Yemen.
That’s imperiled a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion of trade pass through it, as well as crucial shipments of aid to war-torn Sudan and Yemen.
The Houthis also continue to launch missiles targeting Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes from the Israelis this weekend on the port city of Hodeida.