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Yemeni forces shoot down second American spy drone in less than 72 hours

The photo shows a US MQ-9 Reaper drone.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have shot down an American MQ-9 drone, the second such aircraft targeted in just 72 hours and the ninth downed since the start of retaliatory operations against the US and Israel.

Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the country’s forces had downed the US MQ-9 drone, while it was carrying out hostile activities in the airspace of Saada province.

“This marks the second drone of its kind downed in just 72 hours, bringing to nine the total [number of] drones intercepted during the Promised Conquest and Sacred Jihad battle in support of Gaza,” the official said on Tuesday.

The aircraft, which is valued at approximately $30 million, can fly at altitudes up to 15,240 meters (50,000 feet) and remain airborne for as long as 24 hours, has been utilized by US military and intelligence units over Yemen for several years.

“Yemen’s military operations will persist until the aggressive actions of the Zionist regime against the Gaza Strip cease and the blockade of this strip is fully lifted,” Saree added.

The spokesperson further hailed a reprisal shooting by a Jordanian truck driver at a border crossing bridge that resulted in the killing of several Israelis.

He noted that Yemeni armed forces express their support for the heroic sacrifice of Maher Ziab Hussein al-Jazi, urging all members of the Islamic community to fulfill their religious, moral, and humanitarian duties to support the Palestinian people suffering from the impacts of war.

Maher killed three Israeli forces on Sunday in support of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip before being shot dead at the King Hussein Bridge, the vital link between Jordan and the occupied West Bank.

On Saturday, Yemeni armed forces had shot down a MQ-9 Reaper over Ma’rib province while “it was carrying out hostile activities.”

In the Tuesday statement, Saree also said that Yemeni forces will continue to mount attacks in support of Palestinians and “are in the process of strengthening defensive capabilities” to confront continued joint airstrikes by the US and United Kingdom on Yemen.

Since the onset of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Yemeni forces have carried out scores of operations in support of the war-hit Gazans, striking targets throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, in addition to targeting Israeli ships or vessels heading towards ports in the occupied territories.

The US has, on the other hand, been staging attacks against Yemen as means of trying to stop these operations.

The leader of the Ansarullah resistance movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, has said it is “a great honor and blessing to be confronting America directly.”


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