Yemen rebels claim to intercept US-made spy drone

SANAA, Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have intercepted a US-made spy drone in the central Marib province.

“Our air defenses shot down an American-made Scan Eagle spy plane while carrying out hostilities in the airspace of Sarwah district in Marib,” rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said in a Twitter post.

Saree said the drone “was shot down with an appropriate weapon”, without specifying.

He did not clarify the side using the spy plane, but the Houthis have in the past blamed the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition or the Yemeni government on the Houthi claim.

The rebel group has in recent months made several claims of intercepting US-made drones flying over Marib.

Since February, Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks to take control of the oil-rich Marib province, one of the most important strongholds of the legitimate government and home to the headquarters of Yemen’s Defense Ministry.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

A recent United Nations report projected that by year’s-end the death toll from the seven-year Yemeni conflict will reach 377,000.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar