Houthis Claim to Down American Reaper Drone over Yemen

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen claimed this weekend to have brought down a $30 million U.S. Reaper drone, the third one in six months if confirmed.

The Houthis have also resumed attacks on international shipping after a brief operational pause, with several strikes reported in the Red Sea over the weekend.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed on Sunday that an MQ-9 Reaper drone “crashed in Yemen.” DoD said the cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Houthis claimed on Saturday to have destroyed the MQ-9 with a surface-to-air missile as it flew near their stronghold in Yemen’s Saada province.

The terrorists backed up their claim with video footage of what they claimed was the missile launch and intercept. A man could be heard reciting the Houthi slogan as the missile was fired: “Allahu akbar, death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam.”

The video concluded with the Houthis parading debris from the destroyed alleged drone. Some of the pieces were stamped with the logo of General Atomics, the company that manufactures Reapers, and appeared to have valid serial numbers. The authenticity of the video could not otherwise be confirmed.

The Houthis also claimed on Saturday to have attacked a Panama-flagged oil tanker called the Andromeda Star with ballistic missiles. 

The Houthis said the Andromeda Star is owned by British interests, but, in fact, it was recently sold to an owner in the Seychelles and was traveling from Russia to India, presumably with a cargo of Russian oil.

The Houthis have promised safe passage through the Red Sea to Russia, China, and Iran, while they attack other ships to pressure Israel to halt its military campaign against Hamas.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the Houthis launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) into the Red Sea, apparently targeting the Andromeda Star and another ship, the Antiqua/Barbados-flagged tanker Maisha.
According to CENTCOM, the Andromeda Star suffered “minor damage” from the attack but was able to “continue its voyage.” A missile landed in the “vicinity” of the Maisha but did not damage the ship. No injuries were reported.

Terror chief Abdel-Malik al-Houthi told a crowd of demonstrators in the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, Sana’a, that rumors of his forces running low on weapons because of U.S. and coalition airstrikes were false. He claimed the Houthis would prove this by extending their campaign of terror attacks into the Indian Ocean, as well as the Red Sea.