Houthis announce downing of US drone

The Houthi military spokesman in Yemen announced the downing of an American MQ-9 drone.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that this marks the eighth drone of this type that the group has shot down. 

The Breaking Defense website quoted the commander of the US Fifth Fleet in August, stating that the Houthi group in Yemen now has a more powerful military arsenal than it did a decade ago.

“There’s a line of effort right now that continues to look at all supply coming into the Houthis and … we  don’t believe is necessarily limited to the Iranians,” he said in a webinar hosted by the Center for International and Strategic Studies on Wednesday. “The Iranians certainly back the Houthis, but the Houthis are diversifying.”

Compared to a decade ago, the Houthis have “developed … far beyond the ways we used to look at the Houthis being supplied”, he added.

Since November, Yemen's Houthis have launched attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea, which they have said are connected to Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

The group has declared these attacks as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and said that they would stop once Israel stops its onslaught in Gaza.