A US MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the sea off the coast of Yemen after apparently being hit by a missile fired by Houthi rebel militants, according to the US Department of Defense.
Initial indications suggested that “the aircraft was shot down by a Houthi ground-based air missile,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters yesterday. The incident therefore occurred on Monday.
It would be the second time in just a few months that the Houthi militia managed to shoot down a US drone. This was the last case in November 2023.
Houthis attacked cargo ships carrying humanitarian aid
According to US information, the Houthis also fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Greek-flagged US container ship Sea Champion.
One of the missiles exploded near the ship and caused minor damage, US Central Command said. The freighter was on its way to Aden, Yemen, with humanitarian aid supplies. According to a source, the attack was accidental.
The Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has regularly attacked ships in the Red Sea since mid-November. The Houthis consider themselves part of the self-proclaimed “axis of resistance” directed against Israel, which includes radical Islamist Hamas and the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.