JERUSALEM—Terrorists from Yemen's Houthi group claimed on Saturday to have shot down a second MQ-9 Reaper drone operated by the US military, releasing video of components that appeared to match known sections of the unmanned aircraft.
Following a relative respite in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, the terrorists claimed to have shot down the Reaper with a surface-to-air missile this week.
Defense Department spokesman for the U.S. Air Force, Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that "a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen. He stated, without providing any details, that an inquiry was in progress.
According to the Houthis, the downing occurred on Thursday above their stronghold in the Saada province of the nation.
The Houthis published footage of what they said was the missile launch that was aimed at the drone, showing an off-camera individual repeating their motto as soon as the drone was struck.
A number of close-ups of the drone's components were seen in the video, including the General Atomics logo and serial numbers that matched parts that the business is known to have manufactured.
In addition to Thursday's downing, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to terrorists since the Houthis took control of the nation's north and capital city of Sanaa in 2014—in2017,2019,2023, and this year.
Reapers can go up to 50,000 feet in the air and can stay in the air for up to 24 hours before having to land; they are estimated to cost roughly $30 million each.
The Houthis, who want Israel to stop the conflict in Gaza, are launching attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden at the same time as the drone shootdown. On October 7, terrorists headed by Hamas assaulted Israel, murdering 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250 more. This marked the start of the conflict.
Since November, the Houthis have carried out over fifty attacks on commerce, seizing one ship, and sinking another, according to the U.S. Maritime Oversight.
As a result of a campaign of airstrikes in Yemen spearheaded by the United States, the number of Houthi attacks has decreased in recent weeks. The danger has caused a decrease in shipping across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Because of the U.S.-led assault against them and because the terrorists have been shooting drones and missiles nonstop over the past few months, American authorities have worried that the terrorists may be running out of weaponry. But for the past week, the terrorists have stepped up their attacks.
