Yemen's Iran-linked Houthis have announced that they have shot down yet another $30 million American military drone.
Footage is widely circulating of what appears to be the wreckage of an MQ-9 Reaper drone in Yemen, but the Pentagon has not yet confirmed.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree described that the drone was conducing "hostile actions" over Yemen's Marib province when it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
The Associated Press has commented of footage released by the Houthis:
The Houthis later released footage they claimed showed the surface-to-air-missile being launched at night, along with night-vision footage of the missile hitting the drone.
A man, whose voice had been digitally altered to apparently prevent identification, chanted the Houthi slogan: God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”
Though the US had not confirmed prior shootdowns in every case, this would mark the fourth Reaper downing by the Houthis since Gaza-related hostilities began in the wake of Oct.7.
Over the last half-decade many more have been lost, in connection with the prior Saudi-US-UAE coalition war against the Yemeni rebels.
"Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital, Sanaa, in 2014, the U.S. military has previously lost at least five drones to the rebels," the AP report notes.
WATCH | Yemeni air defenses shot down a US MQ9 drone in the airspace of Maarib, west of Yemen, with a locally produced surface-to-air missile. pic.twitter.com/kIOWEcO0fI
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) May 17, 2024
We described previously that literally hundreds of US and British missile strikes on Yemen have done nothing to deter the Houthis, who insist the campaign will only stop once there’s a ceasefire in Gaza.
The US backed a brutal Saudi/UAE war against the Houthis from 2015-2022 that involved heavy airstrikes and a blockade, and the Houthis only became more of a capable fighting force during that time.
New images of the downed drone wreckage from Yemen:
Yemeni Sources have Posted several Pictures tonight from near the City of Marib, which appear to show that yet another U.S. Air Force MQ-9 “Reaper” Surveillance Drone has been Shot Down by the Houthi Terrorist Group in Western Yemen; with this likely being the 4th MQ-9 to be… pic.twitter.com/rvBTv8IJia
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 16, 2024
So ultimately, the Pentagon's Yemen adventurism over a period of years has cost American taxpayers billions, and yet Congress has never officially authorized combat operations there.
