The Yemeni Armed Forces have taken responsibility for the interception and destruction of a strategic unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) as it was flying in the airspace over Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz.
Spokesperson for the Yemeni military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced in a statement on Thursday that the country’s air defense units could detect and target a Turkish-built Bayraktar Akinci high-altitude and long-endurance drone while it was carrying out “hostile missions.”
Saree said the combat drone was brought down with an “appropriate weapon,” without providing further details. Saudi Arabia has not commented on the report immediately.
Elsewhere in the southwestern Yemeni province of Lahij, which sits along the Red Sea coast, Yemeni army soldiers targeted gatherings and reinforcements of Saudi-backed forces with ballistic missiles near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Saree said several missiles struck Saudi-sponsored mercenary forces at the Qawah camp in the Ras al-Ara area, resulting in casualties and fires at weapons storage sites.
He added that Yemeni Armed Forces also targeted Saudi-backed militia forces south of Bab al-Mandeb, as well as in al-Saqiya and Ras al-Ara, killing and injuring dozens.
The Sana’a administration declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, in response to “an unfair and tyrannical siege” on Yemen lasting nearly 12 years.
The Yemeni military has announced several successful operations aimed at ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a blockade on Yemen and launched a sweeping military campaign, backed by military, political, and logistical support from the United States and several Western countries.
The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis. However, Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its stated objective of reinstating a puppet regime that serves its interests.
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