Houthi rebels claim shooting down another US MQ-9 drone

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Monday they shot down one other American-made MQ-9 Reaper drone over the nation, with movies purportedly exhibiting a surface-to-air missile putting it. The U.S. army didn’t instantly acknowledge dropping any plane.

The claimed assault comes because the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas warfare within the Gaza Strip approaches. The Houthis have focused ships touring by way of the Crimson Sea over the warfare as U.S.-led airstrikes pound their positions in Yemen. That’s imperiled a waterway that usually sees $1 trillion of commerce move by way of it, in addition to essential shipments of help to war-torn Sudan and Yemen.

The Houthis additionally proceed to launch missiles focusing on Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes from the Israelis this weekend on the port metropolis of Hodeida.

The Houthi-run broadcaster Al-Masirah claimed taking pictures down the MQ-9, hours after video footage circulated on-line exhibiting the purported missile putting the plane over Yemen’s Saada province. A single picture on-line additionally appeared to point out wreckage of the drone, with items resembling that of an MQ-9.

The U.S. army didn’t reply to a request for remark from The Related Press.

Normal Atomics Reapers, which price round $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes as much as 50,000 ft and have an endurance of as much as 24 hours earlier than needing to land. The plane have been flown by each the U.S. army and the CIA over Yemen for years.

Since Houthis seized the nation’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. army has seen Reapers shot down in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The U.S. army acknowledged the Houthis shot down two MQ-9s in September.

Houthis have focused greater than 80 service provider vessels with missiles and drones because the warfare in Gaza began in October. They seized one vessel and sank two within the marketing campaign that has additionally killed 4 sailors. Different missiles and drones have both been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition within the Crimson Sea or failed to succeed in their targets, which have included Western army vessels as properly.

The rebels keep that they aim ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the UK to pressure an finish to Israel’s marketing campaign in opposition to Hamas in Gaza. Nonetheless, lots of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the battle, together with some sure for Iran.

These assaults embody a barrage that struck the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion within the Crimson Sea. Salvagers have towed away the burning oil tanker, hoping to keep away from a catastrophic leak of its 1 million barrels of oil on board. Firefighting efforts onboard the Sounion started final week and “the operation has proceeded with promising outcomes as some fires are extinguished and different underneath management,” the Joint Maritime Info Middle reported Monday.

The middle, overseen by the U.S. Navy, additionally acknowledged the final assault on a service provider ship by the Houthis got here on Sept. 2, however the rebels stay a risk.

“Regardless of a drop in assaults in opposition to service provider vessels during the last two weeks, the Houthis have proven skill and willingness to focus on U.S. Navy property and coalition companions,” the middle stated. The Houthis claimed an assault focused American warships final week.