Yemeni armed forces shoot down another US-made ScanEagle reconnaissance drone

The Yemeni army says it shot down another Saudi spy drone over the oil-producing province of Ma’rib.

The US-made ScanEagle was brought down while carrying out hostile acts over the al-Jubah district on Saturday morning, armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree tweeted. 

It was the second downing in less than a week after Yemeni forces downed a Chinese-made CH-4 combat drone in northwestern Amran province on Wednesday.

He said further details about the operation and its footage would be released soon.

تمكنت دفاعاتنا الجوية بفضل الله من إسقاط طائرة تجسسية نوع (سكان إيغل Scan Eagle) أمريكية الصنع أثناء قيامها بأعمال عدائية صباح يومنا هذا في أجواء منطقة الجوبة بمحافظة مأرب.
تمت عملية إسقاط الطائرة بسلاح مناسب وسيتم بث مشاهد حطام الطائرة لاحقا إن شاء الله.

— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) November 13, 2021

The ScanEagle is a long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance.

On November 9, the Yemeni army forces and their allies shot down a Saudi ScanEagle reconnaissance drone as the aircraft was flying over the same district of Ma’rib province.

Also, Yemeni armed forces shot down another ScanEagle drone on September 27 over the Medghal district of the same Yemeni province.

‘Al-Qaeda fighting alongside Saudi militants’

The leader of al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen says the group's terrorists have fought alongside Saudi-led military coalition troops and Saudi militants loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

“Our role in fighting the Houthis is apparent, and no one can deny it,” Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television quoted Khalid Saeed Batarfi, the current emir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as saying.

He said the AQAP terrorists have fought within the ranks of Saudi troops and mercenaries against the Yemeni army and their allied Popular Committees on 11 fronts.

Yemen’s Interior Ministry has confirmed that the al-Qaeda terrorists are fighting alongside Saudi-backed militants in Ma’rib province, where an offensive is underway to liberate the city.

Yemen’s Deputy Interior Minister Major General Abdul Majeed al-Murtadha said in a statement carried by al-Masirah television earlier this year that devices and equipment owned by al-Qaeda were found in the central province of al-Bayda after the Yemeni military cleared terrorists linked to foreign intelligence services.

Yemen: Call for Ma’rib respite exposes US collusion with Daesh, al-Qaeda

The spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarullah movement says the US demand for a halt in fighting in the oil-rich Ma’rib province attests to close relations between Washington and Daesh militants.

Murtadha said the elimination of al-Qaeda in al-Bayda ruffled feathers in Washington, and that is why Washington has been calling on the Yemeni forces to halt their offensive on the city.  

Saudi jets bomb Ta'izz airport 

Separately, Saudi war planes launched airstrikes against the public airport in Yemen’s southern province of Ta’izz in a fresh escalation. 

Al-Masirah said the warplanes hit Ta'izz airport twice overnight. There were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage.

Saudi aggression on western Yemen kills four civilians, including children

At least four Yemeni civilians, including three children, have been killed in new airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition forces.

Saudi military aircraft also bombed the Sirwah district in Ma’rib province on 21 occasions. They also attacked the al-Jubah district in the same Yemeni district. 

Civilians injured in Sa'ada

Moreover, Saudi army forces fired indiscriminate shots towards a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern Sa’ada province, injuring at least five civilians. 

Al-Masirah said the shooting targeted the border district of Monabbih on Friday. There were four African refugees among the casualties.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the Hadi government back to power and crushing popular Ansarullah. The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases.

Yemeni armed forces and the Popular Committees have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir