Yemen’s Houthis claim to down US drone, attack ship in Gulf of Aden

By Shoukri Hussein

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – The Houthi group claimed Sunday to have shot down an American aircraft in northern Yemen and targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said an American MQ-9 drone was intercepted by a locally-made surface-to-air missile over Saada province in northern Yemen.

There was no comment from the US military on the Houthi claim.

Saree said Houthi forces also attacked a ship with several ballistic missiles in the Gulf of Aden.

No details were provided about the identity of the targeted ship.

The Houthis have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where nearly 39,600 people have been killed in a deadly Israeli offensive since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

With tensions escalating due to US-UK airstrikes against Houthi sites in Yemen, the group declared that it considered all American and British ships to be legitimate military targets.

​​​​​​​*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala