Initial indications are that a United States MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed near Hodeidah in Yemen on Monday was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile, an American official said.
Previously, officials said it was unclear if the drone had been shot down or simply crashed. A spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said in a statement posted to X on Monday that the MQ-9 was shot down “with a suitable missile.”
The incident is still being investigated.
The Houthis also shot down a MQ-9 — which is an unmanned drone typically used for intelligence collection — last November off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis’ apparent downing of a US drone comes amid regular attacks by the rebel group on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and increasingly regular strikes by the US on their capabilities in Yemen, many of which have been conducted on missiles or drones that are preparing to launch.
On Monday alone, the Houthis launched a barrage of missiles and drones toward merchant vessels and American and coalition warships over the course of multiple hours. In two instances, they struck US-owned commercial ships, according to a US official.
Between 12.30pm and 1.50pm on Monday, two anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched toward the M/V Sea Champion, a US-owned, Greek-flagged grain carrier in the Gulf of Aden.
No injuries were reported, though the attack resulted in minor damage, the official said. The US-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Navis Fortuna, a bulk carrier, was struck Monday evening by a one-way attack drone, which resulted in minor damage but no injuries. The Navis Fortuna continues its voyage, the official said.
The Houthis’ spokesperson said on Monday the group targeted two US ships “with a number of appropriate naval missiles,” adding that it was in support of Palestinian people and in response to “the American-British aggression against Yemen.”
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller specifically called out the attack on the Sea Champion on Tuesday, saying it was bringing “corn and other food supplies to the Yemeni people in Aden.”
“This was a reckless attack on a ship delivering humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni people, and I think it was another sign that the Houthis continue to demonstrate disregard, not just for international shipping, not just for supplies that are going to benefit civilians all around the world, in many cases, far from the region, but ultimately, for their own people,” Miller said.
Two more anti-ship ballistic missiles were also launched on Monday evening toward the M/V Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, UK-owned bulk carrier, one of which struck the ship and resulted in damage. The Rubymar issued a distress call and was assisted by a coalition warship and merchant vessel that responded.
The US also took action on Monday, including destroying the surface-to-air missile launcher. On Monday evening, the US destroyed a one-way attack drone in western Yemen preparing to launch against ships in the Red Sea.
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And over a course of several hours that evening, US and coalition aircraft and warships shot down 10 more one-way attack drones in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the official said.
The US has also carried out multiple strikes alongside the UK over the last several weeks, targeting munitions, launching systems, command and control nodes, storage sites and air surveillance.