Houthis down US spy drone over Yemen's territorial waters

YEMEN

Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday that its forces shot down a US military surveillance drone that was flying over Yemeni territorial waters.

In a statement, the Houthis said its air defenses downed a US MQ-9 drone while it was carrying out hostile activities as part of US military support for Israel.

It added that the US’s hostile moves will not deter the group from continuing its military operations in support of the Palestinian people.

According to ABC News, a US official acknowledged the downing of an MQ-9 Reaper drone, saying it was in international airspace near Yemen.

"We can confirm that a US military MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces," the official said.

In the past few days, the Houthis have announced the firing of explosives-laden drones and cruise missiles towards Israeli targets as part of their support for the Palestinian people in the face of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian resistance group Hamas initiated a cross-border attack on Oct. 7.​​​​​​​

At least 10,569 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.