Israel-Gaza war: Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to shoot down another US MQ-9 Predator drone as footage shows wreckage
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Online video showed wreckage resembling the pieces of the Predator, as well as footage of that wreckage on fire.
The US military did not respond to a request for comment over the Houthi claim. While the rebels have made claims about attacks that turned out later not to be true, they have a history of shooting down US drones and have been armed by their main benefactor, Iran, with weapons capable of high-altitude attack.
Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the US military has previously lost at least five drones to the rebels.
Reapers, which cost around US$30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.
The drone shoot down comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.
Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a US-led air strike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden still remains low because of the threat, however.