Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim they shot down another American drone as US strikes pound country

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Tuesday that they shot down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone, as the U.S. kept up its intense airstrikes targeting the group.

The reported shootdown came as airstrikes hit around Sanaa, the country’s rebel-held capital, and Saada, a Houthi stronghold.

The U.S. military acknowledged to The Associated Press it was aware of reports of the downing of a Reaper, but declined to comment further.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to the Houthis and their main benefactor, Iran, describing the group as being “decimated” by the campaign of strikes that began March 15.

“Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us,” Trump asserted on his social media website Truth Social. “We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation.”

He added: “The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”

Houthis claim they downed another US drone

The rebels claimed the drone was shot down in Marib governorate, home to oil and gas fields still under the control of allies to Yemen’s exiled central government.

Footage released on social media showed flames in the night, with a Yemeni man claiming a drone had been shot down. Footage broadcast later Tuesday showed wreckage that appeared to be of the drone.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, separately claimed downing the MQ-9 drone in a prerecorded video message.

Saree described the rebels targeting the drone with “a suitable locally manufactured missile.” The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft.

Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi rebels despite a United Nations arms embargo.

General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and remain in the air for over 30 hours. They have been flown by both the U.S. military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.

The Houthis claim they’ve shot down 20 MQ-9s over the country over the years, with 16 downed during the rebels’ campaign over the Israel-Hamas war.

The U.S. military hasn’t acknowledged the total number of drones it has lost there.

Intense US bombings began March 15

An Associated Press review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former President Joe Biden, as the U.S. moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs in cities.

The new campaign of airstrikes, which the Houthis say have killed at least 61 people, started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.

The Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none has been hit.

The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war, which has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.