YAF Shoot Down U.S MQ-9 Drone over Saada, Target Ship in Gulf of Aden

The Yemeni Armed Forces’ air defense forces managed to shoot down an American MQ-9 drone while it was conducting hostile activities in the skies over Saada province, announced YAF spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree on Sunday.

In a televised statement, Saree confirmed that the drone was downed using a homegrown surface-to-air missile, adding that this is the seventh drone of its kind to be shot down since the start of the YAF’s military operations in support of Gaza.

The Yemeni Military Media later released footage of the wreckage of the MQ-9 drone that the Yemeni Armed Forces downed over Saada.

Additionally, the spokesperson said the YAF’s naval and missile units carried out a joint military operation targeting the ship Groton in the Gulf of Aden with several ballistic missiles, and the strike was precise.

He indicated that the ship was targeted after its owning company violated the entry ban into the ports of occupied Palestine imposed by the YAF, adding that the attack comes as part of the fourth phase of escalation concerning the maritime operations area.

On its part, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), a multinational coalition led by the US Navy, also confirmed a missile attack on the Liberian-flagged container ship – the first since the Israeli aggression that targeted the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah in mid-July.

The JMIC said the attack took place on Saturday approximately 225 kilometers (140 miles) southeast of Aden, causing minor damage to the container ship.

“All crew on board are safe,” the JMIC mentioned, adding that “the vessel was reported diverting to a port nearby.”

Saree said the YAF salute the valiant Palestinian Resistance in Gaza for 300 days of steadfastness, heroism, and sacrifice in defense of the nation, its honor, and its dignity, as well as its sanctities.

Elsewhere, the Brigadier General affirmed that the YAF will continue their military operations in various escalation phases, underlining that these operations will not cease until the aggression is halted and the siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted.

Earlier on Sunday, sources confirmed to Al Mayadeen that an American-made MQ-9 reconnaissance drone was shot down over Saada province in northern Yemen.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time an American drone of this model has been shot down.

Since the YAF launched their military operations in support of the Gaza Strip amid the Israeli war, their air defenses have downed six similar reconnaissance drones.

To detail some of these operations, on May 29, YAF spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that the air defense forces successfully shot down an MQ-9 drone while it was conducting hostile operations over Marib.

On May 17, Yemeni military media published footage of the air defenses shooting down an American MQ-9 drone over Marib on May 8.

Days earlier, another drone of the same model was downed using a locally-made surface-to-air missile over al-Bayda province on May 21.