Houthi Rebels Shoot Down US MQ-9 Reaper Drone Amidst Yemen's Conflict

On May 29, another US MQ-9 Reaper drone was downed in Yemen by the Houthi rebels, marking the third incident this month. Footage showed the drone being targeted and landing in Marib province. This development is part of the larger conflict involving attacks on shipping linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

Another US MQ-9 Reaper drone went down in Yemen, images purported to show Wednesday, as Yemen's Houthi rebels continued attacks on shipping around the Red Sea over the Israel-Hamas war.

The Houthis released footage they said showed the aircraft being targeted with a surface-to-air missile in a desert region of Yemen's central Marib province. It marked the third-such downing this month alone.

Images analysed by The Associated Press showed the MQ-9 on its belly in the barren desert, its tail assembly disconnected from their rest of its body. At least one hatch on the drone appeared to have been opened after it landed there, though the drone remained broadly intact without any clear blast damage. One image included Wednesday's date.

Noticeably, the drone did not appear to carry any markings on it.

Authorities in Marib, which remains held by allies of Yemen's exiled government, did not acknowledge the drone.

A US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, told the AP that “the US Air Force has not lost any aircraft operating within US Central Command's area of responsibility.” The official declined to elaborate.

The CIA also is believed to have flown Reaper drones over Yemen, both to monitor the war and in its campaign against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen's local affiliate of the militant group. The CIA declined to comment when reached by the AP.

Located 120 kilometres east of Sanaa, Marib sits on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula's Empty Quarter Desert at the foot of the Sarawat Mountains running along the Red Sea. The province has seen US drones previously brought down there, in part because the region remains crucial for the outcome of Yemen's yearslong war.

Since Yemen's civil war started in 2014, when the Houthis seized most of the country's north and its capital of Sanaa, the US military has lost at least five drones to the rebels. This month alone, there's been two others suspected shootdowns of Reapers that the American military hasn't confirmed.

Reapers cost around USD 30 million apiece. They can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (about 15,000 metres) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.

The Houthis in recent months have stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.

Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat.

On Wednesday, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree acknowledged the rebels attacked the bulk carrier Laax on Tuesday. Saree also claimed a number of other attacks on vessels that have not reported assaults without offering any evidence to support his claim. Saree in the past has exaggerated Houthi attacks.