Houthi group says it shot down US drone over northern Yemen

SANAA, Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi group said on Friday it shot down a US MQ-9 drone in Al Jawf province, northern Yemen.

“The group’s air defenses successfully downed an American MQ-9 drone conducting hostile operations over Al Jawf province early Friday,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in Sanaa at a solidarity demonstration for Palestine and Lebanon.

Saree added that this brings the total number of US drones downed by Houthi air defenses to 12 since Oct. 7, 2023.

As of yet, Washington has not issued comments on the Houthi statement.

Separately, the Houthis reported that the US-UK coalition conducted two airstrikes on At Tuhayta District in Al Hudaydah Province, along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

“The American-British coalition’s warplanes targeted At Tuhayta District in Al Hudaydah province with two airstrikes,” the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported.

The channel did not provide further details and there was no immediate comment from US or British authorities.

Since the beginning of 2024, a coalition led by the US has been conducting airstrikes that it said are targeting Houthi locations in parts of Yemen in response to attacks by the group on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The counterattacks have been occasionally met with retaliation from the group.

In solidarity with Gaza, which has been facing a genocidal war by Israel since Oct. 7 last year, the Houthis have targeted Israeli cargo ships or those associated with Tel Aviv with missiles and drones, expressing their determination to continue operations until the end of the onslaught on the enclave.

With the intervention of Washington and London and an escalation of tensions, the Houthis announced that they consider all American and British ships military targets.