Initial indications are that a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed near Hodeidah in Yemen early Monday morning was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile, a US official said Tuesday.
Previously, officials said it was unclear if the drone had been shot down or simply crashed. A spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said in a statement posted to X on Monday that the MQ-9 was shot down “with a suitable missile.”
The incident on Monday is still being investigated.
The Houthis also shot down a MQ-9 — which is an unmanned drone typically used for intelligence collection — in November off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis’ apparent downing of a US drone comes amid regular attacks by the rebel group on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and increasingly regular strikes by the US on their capabilities in Yemen, many of which have been conducted on missiles or drones that are preparing to launch.
On Monday, two anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi territory toward a commercial bulk carrier, the MV Rubymar. One of the missiles struck and damaged the ship, resulting in it sending out a distress call, US Central Command said in a release on X.
And on Saturday, the US carried out five self-defense strikes in Yemen on three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, one unmanned surface vessel and one unmanned underwater vessel.
It was the first observed use by the Houthis of an unmanned underwater vehicle since their attacks began in October, CENTCOM said, following Hamas’ invasion of Israel and Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
The US has also carried out multiple strikes alongside the UK over the last several weeks, targeting munitions, launching systems, command and control nodes, storage sites and air surveillance.
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