Yemen’s Houthis say downed another US MQ-9 drone

The group issued a statement on Wednesday saying its Air Defense Forces had shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone earlier in the day as it was flying in the skies of the central province of Marib.

“The targeting operation was carried out with a locally-made surface-to-air missile,” added the statement.

It was a second time in days that the Yemenis downed an MQ-9 Reaper, a heavy and modern aircraft which is worth around $30 million.

A total of six drones of this type have been dismantled by Yemen since last year when the Arab country launched a military campaign in support of Palestine.

Yemen started targeting Israeli-linked ships in November, a month after the regime invaded Gaza.

Attacks later expanded to cover ships linked to the United States and Britain after the two launched airstrikes on the Arab country to force it to halt its anti-Israeli operations.

The Yemenis have insisted that maritime operations and drone and missile attacks on Israeli-occupied ports will continue until the regime completely stops its attacks on Gaza.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces, by the grace of Allah, continue to develop their defensive capabilities to confront the American-British aggression and all hostile forces,” according to the statement by Yemen’s armed forces on Wednesday.