Yemen’s Houthis claim to have downed a US MQ-9 drone and vow retaliation after US strikes on Ras Issa fuel port killed 74
Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Friday published footage of what they claimed was the wreckage of an MQ-9 drone that they shot down over Sanaa using a locally made surface-to-air missile.
The Iranian-backed rebels claimed that the drone shot down on Friday was the 20th American drone they have downed, of which 19 were MQ-9s.
Meanwhile, the Houthi political bureau commented on US strikes on the Ras Issa fuel port in northwestern Yemen on Thursday night, which reportedly killed at least 74 people, stating that “they continue to harm civilians and civilian infrastructure in Yemen.”
“This is a violation of international humanitarian laws and norms. The attack is intended to strangle the Yemeni people and prevent food, medical equipment, and supplies from reaching them,” the Houthis stated, adding, “The strikes will not deter us from continuing to support Gaza. The attacks will not go unanswered. We are ready to escalate in order to harm the American enemy.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that Thursday’s strikes were carefully conducted to target economic assets exploited by the Houthis, and not the people of Yemen.
The operation forms part of ongoing efforts to curtail the Houthis’ ability to carry out attacks across the region, including in the Red Sea and on neighboring countries. CENTCOM made clear that the strike was meant “to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen.”
Thursday’s strikes were part of US air operations initiated in March against the Iran-backed Houthis. The aim is to disrupt their capacity to target international shipping and military vessels operating in strategic waterways.
US President Donald Trump recently stated that the Houthis would be “completely annihilated” and added that Iranian support would only impede but not stop the Houthis’ destruction.
Trump later said that the Houthis now want peace because the US attacks on them have been very successful, while stressing that those strikes will continue for a very long time. The Houthi rebels have upped their attacks in the region since October of 2023, having launched drones and ballistic missiles towards cities in Israel while also targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region, in support for Gazans.
The Houthis halted their launches towards Israel with the start of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, but began to fire missiles towards Israel again after the ceasefire concluded. They fired a ballistic missile towards Israel early Friday morning, triggering sirens in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and many other localities in Israel. The IDF said the missile was intercepted.
