Aden (Yemen), Sep 8 (IANS) Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed that they have shot down a US drone.
He said his air defences had successfully shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the northeastern province of Marib.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Saturday that this was the eighth drone shot down by the armed group, which was “in response to the victory of oppressed Palestinians and the US-British aggression against Yemen”, Xinhua news agency reported.
Sariya said the drone was sent with malicious intent and was shot down. However, according to Yemeni pro-government armed forces, “there is no evidence to support the Houthi claim of shooting down the US drone.”
According to the source, “Such claims are often made by the Houthis as a strategy to boost the morale of their troops in battle.”
There has been no confirmation from the US yet regarding Houthi’s claim.
The MQ-9, also known as the Reaper, is an unmanned aerial vehicle used primarily by the US military and intelligence organizations for both surveillance and combat operations.
The Houthi rebels have not released any photos or video to confirm the claim, as they did earlier, though such things may appear in propaganda footage in a few days.
However, the Houthis have shot down several General Atomic MQ-9 Reaper drones in the past few years since seizing control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014.
Those attacks have increased sharply since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the Houthis have launched their own campaign targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor.
Sari did not provide any details about how the rebels shot down the plane. However, Iran has for years equipped the rebels with a surface-to-air missile known as the 358.
Iran denies arming the rebels, although Tehran-made weapons have been found on the battlefield and in ships headed to Yemen despite a U.N. arms embargo.
“The Houthis will continue to perform their jihadist duties in the defense of the oppressed Palestinian people’s victory and their beloved Yemen,” Sari said.
The Reapers, which cost about $30 million each, can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and have the ability to stay in the air for 24 hours before landing. These aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over Yemen for years.
Following the claim, the Houthi al-Masirah satellite news channel reported multiple US-led airstrikes near the town of Ibb. The US military did not immediately acknowledge the strikes, but the US has been heavily attacking Houthi positions since January.
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza began in October. They seized one ship and sank two in a campaign that also killed four sailors.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by the US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, including Western military ships.
—IANS
SM/KR
