It was believed that the Reaper UAV was spying for Israel.
On Wednesday, the Houthi leadership in Yemen declared that it had taken down an American drone that had intruded into the state’s maritime borders.
“Our air defences, with the grace of God Almighty, successfully shot down an American MQ9 aircraft that was conducting hostile, monitoring, and spying operations in Yemeni territorial waters’ airspace, all while adhering to the terms of American military assistance to the Israeli entity,” the Yemeni military said in a statement.
The incident’s location and the kind of weapons used were not mentioned.
The Yemeni armed forces said, “Horrible movements will not deter us from carrying out military operations against the Israeli entity in support of the oppressed Palestinian people.”
Regarding the reported event, the US military has remained silent. On social media, there is a picture purportedly showing a burning Reaper drone; however, this has not been independently confirmed.
Yemen affirms involvement in the Israel-Gaza war
Study up on Yemen affirms involvement in the Israel-Gaza war
Yemen declared its intention to keep firing missiles and drones against Israel at the end of October, confirming that it has done so on multiple occasions.
Yemeni military spokesman Yahya Saree stated at the time that Sanaa had chosen that course of action “out of a sense of religious, moral, humanitarian, and national responsibility” in order to “provide relief to our oppressed people in Gaza.”
The US military has already claimed to have shot down several drones and missiles flying over the Red Sea towards Israel, but it has not acknowledged whether or not those missiles originated in Yemen.
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Following Hamas’ incursion on October 7, during which at least 200 Israelis were captured and an estimated 1,400 Israelis were murdered, Israel declared war on Gaza. According to Gaza health officials, as of Wednesday, Israeli air and ground operations had resulted in over 10,000 Palestinian deaths, over 26,000 wounded, and 2,550 missing.
In March, a Reaper drone that was flying dangerously near to Crimea was stopped by two Russian planes and crashed into the Black Sea. The drone’s propeller was allegedly hit by a Russian jet, according to the US, but Moscow denied any communication. While maintaining its distance from the fighting, the Pentagon has been supporting the Ukrainian military by operating drones near Russian airspace.
In June 2019, an American RQ-4A Global Hawk was shot down by Iranian air defences, putting the US and Iran on the verge of war. Washington maintained that the drone had been shot down in a “unprovoked attack” while it was operating over international waters. Tehran said the UAV had wandered into Iranian airspace and disregarded orders to return.
