Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim they shot down another US MQ-9 drone

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed early Sunday they shot down another American-made MQ-9 drone flying over the country, marking potentially the latest downing of the multimillion-dollar surveillance aircraft. The U.S. launched airstrikes over Houthi-controlled territory afterward, the rebels said.

The U.S. military told The Associated Press it was aware of the claim but has “received no reports” of American military drones being downed over Yemen.

The rebels offered no pictures or video to support the claim as they have in the past, though such material can appear in propaganda footage days later.

However, the Houthis have repeatedly downed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones in the years since they seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Those attacks have exponentially increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the Houthis launched their campaign targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree made the claim in a prerecorded video message. He said the Houthis shot down the drone over Yemen’s Marib province, a long-contested area home to key oil and gas fields that’s been held by allies of a Saudi-led coalition battling the rebels since 2015.

Saree offered no details on how the rebels down the aircraft. However, Iran has armed the rebels with a surface-to-air missile known as the 358 for years. Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in seaborne shipments heading to Yemen despite a United Nations arms embargo.

The Houthis “continue to perform their jihadist duties in victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and in defense of dear Yemen,” Saree said.

Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land. The aircraft have been flown by both the U.S. military and the CIA over Yemen for years.

After the claim, the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel reported multiple U.S.-led airstrikes near the city of Ibb. Late Sunday, the U.S. military's Central Command said it had “destroyed three Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles and two missile systems in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen,” without elaborating.

The Americans have been striking Houthi targets intensely since January .

The Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

Those attacks include the barrage that struck the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea. Salvagers last week abandoned an initial effort to tow away the burning oil tanker , leaving the Sounion stranded and its 1 million barrels of oil at risk of spilling.

阿联酋迪拜——也门胡塞武装周日凌晨声称，他们击落了一架飞越也门上空的美国制造的MQ-9无人机，这可能是价值数百万美元的侦察机近期遭遇的最新一次被击落事件。胡塞武装表示，随后美国对胡塞控制区发动了空袭。

美国军方告诉美联社，他们已经注意到这一说法，但“没有收到任何关于美国军用无人机在也门上空被击落的报告”。

叛军没有像过去那样提供图片或视频来佐证这一说法，尽管此类素材几天后可能会出现在宣传片中。

然而，自2014年胡塞武装占领也门首都萨那以来，他们已经多次击落通用原子公司的MQ-9“死神”无人机。自以色列与哈马斯战争爆发，胡塞武装开始以红海走廊的航运为目标开展行动以来，此类袭击事件呈指数级增长。

胡塞武装发言人叶海亚·萨里准将在一段预先录制的视频中声称击落了一架无人机。他表示，胡塞武装在也门马里卜省上空击落了这架无人机。马里卜省是长期争夺的地区，拥有重要的油气田，自2015年以来一直由沙特领导的联军盟友控制，该联军一直在与胡塞武装作战。

萨里没有透露叛军是如何击落飞机的。然而，多年来，伊朗一直向叛军提供名为“358”的地对空导弹。尽管伊朗否认向叛军提供武器，但德黑兰制造的武器却在战场上以及运往也门的海运货物中被发现，而这些货物的运输违反了联合国的武器禁运。

萨里说：“胡塞武装将继续履行其圣战职责，为受压迫的巴勒斯坦人民赢得胜利，并保卫我们亲爱的也门。”

每架“死神”无人机造价约3000万美元，飞行高度可达5万英尺，续航时间长达24小时。多年来，美国军方和中央情报局都曾使用这种无人机在也门上空执行任务。

在胡塞武装声称击落敌机后，胡塞武装的马西拉卫星新闻频道报道称，美国领导的空袭在伊卜市附近展开。周日晚些时候，美国中央司令部表示，他们在也门胡塞武装控制区“摧毁了三架伊朗支持的胡塞武装无人机和两套导弹系统”，但没有提供更多细节。

自1月份以来，美军一直在猛烈打击胡塞武装目标。

自去年10月加沙战争爆发以来，胡塞武装已使用导弹和无人机袭击了80多艘商船。他们在袭击中劫持了一艘商船，击沉了两艘，并造成四名船员丧生。其他导弹和无人机要么被美国领导的联军在红海拦截，要么未能击中目标，这些目标中也包括西方军舰。

反叛分子声称，他们袭击与以色列、美国或英国有关联的船只，是为了迫使以色列停止在加沙对哈马斯的军事行动。然而，许多被袭击的船只与冲突几乎没有任何关联，其中一些甚至驶往伊朗。

这些袭击事件包括对悬挂希腊国旗的油轮“苏尼翁”号在红海的袭击。上周，救援人员放弃了最初将燃烧的油轮拖走的尝试，导致“苏尼翁”号搁浅，其100万桶原油面临泄漏的风险。