The Houthis have declared that they plan to intensify their ballistic missile attacks against Israel in light of the killing of Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah and the new Israeli military ground assault on Lebanon.
The Shia rebel group of Yemen has also of late been intensifying its fire against US warships in the Red Sea. On Monday the group reported shooting down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone while it was operating over Yemen.
"The air defenses of the Yemeni Armed Forces shot down an American MQ-9 aircraft while it was carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Saada Governorate," a statement from Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea indicated.
US defense officials confirmed the shootdown to CNN. The Houthis claim it marks the 11th US MQ-9 downed over Yemen since hostilities began last year, however the Pentagon disputes this figure.
"I can tell you that that number is not accurate," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder has said. "It’s too high."
A prior MQ-9 was reportedly shot down a mere two weeks ago, and each is estimated at around $30 million. According to the Houthi count, that's well over $300,000 in US military hardware downed over Yemen.
Throughout the half-decade which preceded the Oct.7 attacks in Israel, many more Reapers had been lost, in connection with the prior Saudi-US-UAE coalition war against the Yemeni rebels. Last November 2023 and again in February of this year the Pentagon acknowledged that MQ-9 drones were shot down.
Both the US and Israel have conducted bombing raids of late on Houthi targets in Yemen, particularly on the key port of Hodeidah. Major Israeli strikes destroyed facilities there on Sunday.
Alleged footage of Monday's shootdown:
Ansarallah vs US Air Force: Yemenis down a still-armed USAF MQ-9 Reaper drone over Saada province for the eleventh time since the Battle in the Red Sea began and ~14th USAF Reaper since 2017. The drone carried 500-lb bombs and Hellfire missiles. [Yemeni Armed Forces 30/9] pic.twitter.com/KhYWHiXS1V
— Jon Elmer (@jonelmer) September 30, 2024
"The Israeli enemy, with American support, launched 17 airstrikes on various civilian facilities in Hodeidah, including the port and the power station, which led to the martyrdom of five citizens and the injury of 57 as a final tally," military spokesman Sarea said additionally on Monday.
But he vowed that attacks would escalate against the Jewish state. "The crime of aggression against Hodeidah will be met with a military escalation against this criminal enemy in the coming period," he said. Israel's anti-air systems have been very busy repelling projectiles from the directions of Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen of late.
