US Military Drone Shot Down Over Yemen By Rebels

A U.S. military drone was shot down in Yemen’s Dhamar governorate late on Tuesday.

Two U.S. officials told them that a U.S. military MQ-9 drone was shot down southeast of Houthi’s capital Sana’a, in Yemen’s Dhamar governorate. One of the officials believes that the drone was taken down by a surface to air missile that was provided to the rebels by Iran, while the other said it was too early to draw conclusions about who was responsible for the event, Reuters reported.

A Houthi military spokesperson said that air defences had brought down a U.S. MQ-9 drone, as per Al-Masirah, a Houthi funded TV channel. The spokesperson added that the missile used to bring down the drone, which they planned to reveal at a press conference, was developed locally.

The spokesperson also warned the United States-Saudi forces over entering the Yemeni airspace, saying that they will be in for a big surprise in the coming days.

The Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, and the supporters of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who are backed by a coalition involving Saudi and U.S., have been involved in a bloody civil war. A famine resulting from the conflict between these two have resulted in the deaths of over ten thousand civilians.

No official information has been received as to what the purpose of the drone was. The U.S. had previously carried out drone and air-strikes against the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is Yemen’s Al Qaeda branch.

A similar incident occurred back in June when another U.S. drone was brought down over Yemen by Houthi rebels. The incident nearly led to an air-strike, with President Donald Trump calling it off in the last moment as he was concerned about the large death toll the strikes would cause.

Tensions between Iran and the West have been on the rise since last year when President Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal with Iran and began slapping sanctions on them.