Houthis say they shot down US MQ-9 drone off Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi militia on Wednesday claimed to have shot down a US drone off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula country, saying it had been deployed in support of Israel.

“Our air defenses were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support for Israel,” the group said in a statement.

The US military did not immediately react to the statement.

The Houthis are part of the “axis of resistance” of groups and opposed to Israel.

They have claimed responsibility for multiple drone and missile attacks against Israel during its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.