Houthis say US drone downed in western Yemen as tensions escalate

ANKARA

The Yemeni Houthi group claimed on Thursday to have shot down a US drone in western Yemen and attacked US Navy ships in the Red Sea, as Washington escalated its airstrikes on the country.

A Houthi statement said that a surface-to-air missile downed an MQ-9 drone as it was carrying out “hostile” missions over the coastal province of Al-Hudaydah.

According to the statement, the drone was the second to have been intercepted in the last 72 hours and the 17th since October 2023.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree also said that Houthi forces targeted the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its affiliated warships in the Red Sea, using several cruise missiles and drones.

There was no immediate US comment on the Houthi statements.

Saree said the US launched more than 36 airstrikes targeting several areas across Yemen, resulting in fatalities and injuries, without giving a specific figure.

According to the Houthi-run Health Ministry, at least 61 civilians have been killed and 139 others injured in US airstrikes across Yemen since March 15.

Last month, US President Donald Trump said that he had ordered "decisive and powerful military action" against the Houthis and later threatened to "completely annihilate them."

The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 50,500 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, but resumed them after renewed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza last month.