Initial indications are that a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed near Hodeidah in Yemen early Monday morning was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile, a US official said Tuesday.
Previously, officials said it was unclear if the drone had been shot down or simply crashed. A spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said in a statement posted to X on Monday that the MQ-9 was shot down “with a suitable missile.”
The incident on Monday is still being investigated.
The Houthis also shot down a MQ-9 — which is an unmanned drone typically used for intelligence collection — in November off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis’ apparent downing of a US drone comes amid regular attacks by the rebel group on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and increasingly regular strikes by the US on their capabilities in Yemen, many of which have been conducted on missiles or drones that are preparing to launch.
On Monday alone, the Houthis launched a barrage of missiles and drones toward merchant vessels and US and coalition warships over the course of multiple hours. In two instances, they struck US-owned commercial ships, according to a US official.
Between 12:30 and 1:50 p.m. on Monday, two anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched toward the M/V Sea Champion, a US-owned, Greek-flagged grain carrier in the Gulf of Aden. No injuries were reported, though the attack resulted in minor damage, the official said. The US-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Navis Fortuna, a bulk carrier, was struck Monday evening by a one-way attack drone, which resulted in minor damage but no injuries. The Navis Fortuna continues its voyage, the official said.
The Houthis’ spokesperson said Monday evening the group targeted two US ships “with a number of…
Read the full article here