The drone designed for intelligence, surveillance, target
acquisition and reconnaissance was downed while flying over the region
early Friday, Yemeni media outlets reported.
The US military acknowledged the videos circulating
online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky
and a field of burning debris in what those off-camera described as an area of
al-Jawf province. The military said it was investigating the incident,
declining to elaborate further.
Yemeni forces have surface-to-air missiles capable of
downing aircraft. The country's Ansarullah movement has been a key
component of the “Axis of Resistance” that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas
and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
Reapers,
which cost around US$30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet
(15,240 meters) and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.
The aircraft have been flown by both the US military and the CIA over
Yemen for years.
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s
struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating
war on Gaza on October 07 last year, killing at least 43,469 Palestinians to
date.
Yemen's armed
forces have said that they won’t stop their attacks until Israeli ground and
aerial attacks in Gaza end. They have targeted more than 90 Israeli-linked
vessels with missiles and drones since the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip
started in October 2023.
Ansarullah maintains that it targets ships linked to Israel,
the United States or the Britain to force an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to
bomb Yemen in support of Israel.
