The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies
Iran-backed Yemeni militia Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in international waters off the coast of Yemen today, U.S. leaders confirmed. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the “Reaper” attack and released a video showing the downing of the drone.
“On November 8, 2023, Yemenis shot down a U.S. MQ9 aircraft in an act of violence in support of an enemy group in Israel,” the Houthis said.
It is unclear whether the “Death” was hit over the Red Sea or the Pacific. U.S. warships and aircraft patrol both waters to ensure shipping through Bab el-Mandeb Bay is safe from pirates and other threats.
The Houthis are the only militia supported by Iran that possesses air defense systems, cruise missiles, and cruise missiles. Since October, it has shot down U.S. “Reaper” fighter jets to Israel three times, twice in 2019 and again in 2017. once. 17 Use drones, surface-to-air vehicles, and machines. In one attack, U.S. bombers dropped several missiles and drones before reaching Israel. Israeli air defenses prevented further attacks. The Houthis have vowed to continue attacking Israel and working to destroy Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.
The Houthis are an Iranian ally formed in the 1990s to oppose the Yemeni government. Over time, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards co-opted the Houthis and provided the group with weapons, training, and financial support. The Trump administration designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in January 2021, but President Joe Biden rescinded that title weeks after taking office. However, the group’s leaders, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abdul Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim, were designated as independent international terrorists.
The Houthi armed forces control almost all areas in northern Yemen, including the city of Sanaa, and possess advanced weapons such as ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, with an estimated 100,000 weapons. The official slogan of the Houthis is: “God is great, death to the United States, death to Israel, curse the Jews, Islam wins.”
Iran is using its troops in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to suppress the Israeli and American Houthis, as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Syrian soldiers who could be used as border and reinforcements during the Israeli period. The war in the north is raging. These forces are suffering from the decade-long war against the United States in Iraq and al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.