SANAA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Houthi group said it shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone on Wednesday over Yemen's central Marib.
Yahya Sarea, the group's military spokesman, said in the statement broadcast by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV that "a locally made surface-to-air missile is used in the operation, and this is the sixth MQ-9 Reaper drone we shot down in six months."
He added that "we will continue to develop our military defense capabilities to counter the U.S.- British coalition aggression against our country."
"We will also continue to support the Palestine people against the Israeli aggression until the conflict and blockade stop," the spokesman stressed.
The Houthi television said it would broadcast a video showing the operation of shooting down this drone. It has broadcasted videos of all previous operations, showing the debris of the drones.
Meanwhile, the U.S. media outlets cited an anonymous U.S. defense official as saying that "the U.S. Air Force has not lost any aircraft operating within U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility" without providing further details.
Last November, the Houthis began to launch anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones targeting what they said were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In response, the U.S.-British naval coalition stationed in the waters has since January conducted regular air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group but led to an expansion of Houthi attacks to include U.S. and British commercial vessels and naval ships. ■
