Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim downing US Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military’s MQ-9 Reaper drones. They aired footage Saturday of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft. The Houthis said they shot down the Predator with a surface-to-air missile. It’s part of a renewed series of assaults this week by the rebels after there had been a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war. The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their stronghold in the country’s Saada province.