Yemen air defenses shoot down US drone in Marib

SANAA, April 01 (YPA) – Yemen’s armed forces announced on Monday that it had downed a United States MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the airspace of Marib province, northeastern Yemen.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen, Yahiya Sarie said in a statement that Yemeni air defenses were able to target and shoot down the drone while it was carrying out its military task, using a domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile.

“This is the sixteenth drone of the same type that Yemeni air defenses have been able to shoot down since the start of military campaigns in support of Gaza, and the twentieth since the beginning of the aggression on Yemen in 2015,” he explained.

The spokesman stressed that Sanaa forces will continue in support of the Palestinian people until the aggression on the Gaza Strip is stopped and the siege is lifted.

He also affirmed the military operations to go on at preventing Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas, as part of military pressure to counter what he described as “Israeli” escalation against the Palestinians.

The MQ-9 drones are among the most advanced American drones in the field of drones, used by the United States for reconnaissance and airstrikes.

This development comes amid escalating tensions in the region, as Sanaa forces are continuing to carry out military operations targeting Israeli vessels or vessels linked to the occupying entity in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Gulf of Aden. This is part of what Sanaa considers measures in support of the Palestinian cause in general and the Gaza Strip in particular.

AA