2 spy drones of Saudi-led coalition shot down in Yemen

SANAA – Yemen’s Houthi militia announced on Friday they had shot down two spy drones believed to be made by the United States and belonging to the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen.

The first drone was shot down in the northern province of Al-Jawf while the second one was downed in Al-Jubah district in the central province of Marib, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a statement by Houthi military spokesman as saying.

The coalition has made no comment yet. The coalition-backed Yemeni government forces have been fighting the Houthi militia for nearly seven years, and Al-Jawf and Marib are critical frontlines. Large areas of Al-Jawf are under Houthis’ control, while the oil-rich province of Marib is mainly under the government’s control. In January, government troops recaptured several districts from the Houthis in Marib and the neighboring province of Shabwa.

The Houthis have since intensified cross-border missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Most of such attacks were reportedly intercepted. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control over several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 to support Hadi’s government.