Houthis shoot down 18th American MQ-9 drone

The Yemeni organization Ansar Allah (or Houthis) shot down an American MQ-9 drone over the Al-Jawf region, as announced by Yemeni army spokesperson, Brigadier General Yahya Saree.

"Our air defense systems shot down an American MQ-9 drone over Yemen's Al-Jawf Governorate using a locally produced missile," Saree said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Arab media.

The representative of the movement claims that this drone was the 18th to be shot down by the defense forces during the "Promised Conquest and Sacred Jihad" campaign, and the third in the last 10 days.

Each MQ-9 drone costs more than $30 million.

For instance, on April 1, the Houthis asserted they shot down another MQ-9 Reaper drone amid ongoing U.S. airstrikes targeting their positions. Earlier, on March 31, they claimed to have downed a drone over Marib, providing footage of the wreckage. ​

By Khagan Isayev