Houthi Rebels Claim Downing of US Drone04/29 06:08

   

   JERUSALEM (AP) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down 
another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that 
corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.

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

   U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, 
acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that "a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 
drone crashed in Yemen." He said an investigation was underway, without 
elaborating.

   The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their 
stronghold in the country's Saada province.

   Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as the missile 
launch targeting the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi's slogan 
after it was hit: "God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; 
curse the Jews; victory to Islam."

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

   Since the Houthis seized the country's north and its capital of Sanaa in 
2014, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to the rebels counting 
Thursday's shootdown -- in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.

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

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

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

   Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted 
by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and 
Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. American officials have 
speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the 
U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily in 
the last months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the last 
week.