SANAA, Sept 11 (NNN-SABA) – The Houthis, yesterday, claimed that, they had shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone in northern Yemen, the second one, while the U.S. military said, it had destroyed two Houthi missile systems.
“We shot down an American MQ-9 drone, while it was carrying out hostile, espionage and combat operations in the airspace of the province of Saada,” Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea said in a statement, aired by the al-Masirah TV.
“This is the second U.S. drone we downed in less than 72 hours,” he said. The Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone on Saturday, over the central province of Marib, the group announced in an earlier statement.
“This is the ninth drone of the same type we have shot down since Oct, last year,” he said, vowing that, the Houthis would continue to launch more attacks against what he said “Israeli-linked” ships.
So far, there has been no comment from the U.S. military on the Houthi claim.
Meanwhile, in a post earlier yesterday on social media platform X, the U.S. military said, it had destroyed two Houthi missile systems in northern Yemen.
“In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi missile systems and one support vehicle, in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” it said, adding, it also successfully destroyed a Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea.
The Houthis and the U.S. military have been attacking each other since Nov last year, when the Houthis began launching anti-ship missiles and drone attacks on what they said were “Israeli-linked” cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.– NNN-SABA
