US drone that crashed in Yemen appears to have been shot down by Houthi missile, official says
Initial indications are that a United States MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed near Hodeidah in Yemen on Monday was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile, an American official said.
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 is still being investigated.
The Houthis also shot down a MQ-9 — which is an unmanned drone typically used for intelligence collection — last 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...
