Yemen’s Houthi rebels shoot down another US-made MQ-9 Reaper drone

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they shot down another American-made MQ-9 Reaper drone over the country, with videos purportedly showing a surface-to-air missile striking it.

Responding to queries from The Associated Press, the US military acknowledges an MQ-9 was “downed but we have nothing additional to provide.”

The attack comes as the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip approaches. The Houthis have targeted ships traveling through the Red Sea over the war as US-led airstrikes pound their positions in Yemen. That has imperiled a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion of trade pass through it, as well as crucial shipments of aid to war-torn Sudan and Yemen.

The Houthis also continue to launch missiles targeting Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes from Israel this weekend on the port city of Hodeida.

The Houthi-run broadcaster Al-Masirah claims shooting down the MQ-9, hours after video footage circulated online showing the purported missile striking the aircraft over Yemen’s Saada province. A single image online also appears to show the wreckage of the drone, with pieces resembling that of an MQ-9.