Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have shot down US Reaper drone, release footage showing plane wreckage

JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Saturday they had shot down another U.S. MQ-9 Reaper military drone, releasing images of parts matching known parts of the unmanned aircraft.

The Houthis said they shot down the Predator with a surface-to-air missile, part of a new series of assaults this week by the rebels after a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesman, acknowledged Saturday to the Associated Press that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen. He indicated that an investigation was underway, without further details.

The Houthis described the fall as having occurred on Thursday in their stronghold in the country’s Saada province.

Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as a missile launch aimed at the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi slogan after it was hit: “God is greatest; died for America; Death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory for Islam.

The images included several close-ups of parts of the drone that included the logo of General Atomics, which manufactures the drone, and serial numbers corresponding to known parts made by the company.

Since the Houthis seized the north of the country and its capital Sanaa in 2014, the US military has lost at least five drones to the rebels, including Thursday’s downing – in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.

The Reapers, which cost about $30 million each, can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.

The downing of the drone comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on ships, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Houthi attacks have declined in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a US-led campaign of airstrikes in Yemen. Shipping via the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined due to the threat. U.S. officials have speculated that the rebels may be short of weapons because of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after regularly firing drones and missiles in recent months. However, the rebels renewed their attacks last week.