Skip to main content

US Drone That Crashed In Yemen Appears To Have Been Shot Down By Houthis

An American MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed off the coast of Yemen after apparently being struck by a missile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

It is the second time an MQ-9 -- which can be used for both surveillance and strikes -- was lost near Yemen in recent months, with US officials confirming last year that another was downed by the Houthis.

The apparent shoot-down came the same day that the rebels targeted two US-owned merchant vessels as they continue their multi-month campaign of attacks on shipping in the area.

"On February 19, a US MQ-9 was downed or went down off the coast of Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, in the Red Sea," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists.

"Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile," Singh said.

The Houthis -- who are opposed to government forces in Yemen and are also part of the "axis of resistance" of groups arrayed against Israel -- said they shot down an MQ-9 in November 2023, while the United States assessed that another was downed by the rebels in 2019.

Earlier on Tuesday, the military's Central Command said US and coalition aircraft and warships shot down 10 one-way attack drones in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 8:00 pm on Monday and 12:30 am the following day.

- US-owned ships targeted -

The French defense ministry said Tuesday that the country's navy had destroyed two drones over the Red Sea during the night, but it was not immediately clear if they were included in the CENTCOM figures.

The US military command also said an American destroyer shot down an anti-ship cruise missile that was "headed in its direction" early on Tuesday, while US forces destroyed a drone and a missile launcher in Yemen the day before.

On Monday, two anti-ship ballistic missiles caused minor damage to the M/V Sea Champion -- a US-owned, Greek-flagged grain ship -- while a drone hit the M/V Navis Fortuna, a US-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, CENTCOM said.

The Houthis had said in a statement Monday that they had targeted "two American ships in the Gulf of Aden. The first was 'Sea Champion' and the other was 'Navis Fortuna.'"

The Houthis began attacking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

US and UK forces responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

Anger over Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza -- which began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 -- has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/N3TKurH

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Released 2 American Hostages On "Humanitarian Grounds": Hamas

Gaza's ruler Hamas said Friday its armed wing has released two American hostages, from around 200 captives abducted in attacks by the militant group in Israel on October 7. "In response to Qatari efforts, (Ezzedine) al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens (a mother and her daughter) for humanitarian reasons," Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram. The Islamist group did not detail how or when the hostages were released. The Israeli military said earlier Friday that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive. "The majority of the hostages are alive. There were also dead bodies that were taken... to the Gaza Strip," an army statement said. The military said more than 20 hostages were minors, while between 10 and 20 were over the age of 60. There are also between 100 and 200 people considered missing since the Hamas attacks, the army added. On October 7, the Palestinian militant group carried out a deadly assault on Israel, the worst in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gaza's Rafah Border Crossing Area Hit In Military Strike

The area of the Rafah border crossing between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Egypt was hit Monday in a military strike, AFP correspondents said, as hundreds of Palestinians gathered hoping to cross. The area of the shuttered crossing point in Gaza's south had been hit at least three times last week by Israeli air strikes after Gaza-based Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 that triggered all-out war. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/z9CBc7N
Post a Comment
Read more

Sri Lanka Must Achieve Debt Restructuring By September: IMF

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday reaffirmed that Sri Lanka must achieve its debt restructuring process by September, which is also the time for the global lender's formal review of the bailout facility it extended to the cash-strapped nation. On March 20, IMF extended a nearly $3 billion bailout facility to debt-ridden Sri Lanka that would help stabilise the country's economy after it was jolted by a devastating economic crisis last year. In a statement issued on Tuesday at the end of a nearly two weeks staff visit to Colombo to assess the progress made by Sri Lanka since the agreement was reached, the IMF said the two sides had discussed the developments on debt restructuring. "Sri Lanka must achieve debt restructuring by its first review due in September. We also discussed progress on debt restructuring, noting the ongoing discussions with both foreign and domestic creditors," the statement read. Sri Lanka is still struggling to normalise its crisis-hi...
Post a Comment
Read more