Yemen's Houthis shoot down US MQ-9 drone, launch fresh attacks at US aircraft carriers

Sanaa, April 23 (IANS) Yemen's Houthis said in a statement on Tuesday that the group had shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the Yemeni northwestern province of Hajjah, and launched fresh attacks against two US aircraft carriers.

"We shot down a hostile American MQ-9 drone while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the televised statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

"The drone was shot down, using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile," he said, adding: "The MQ-9 drone is the seventh drone we had shot down this April and the 22nd since November 2023."

Sarea also said the group launched fresh attacks against two US aircraft carriers, from which the US military has been conducting airstrikes against Houthi targets across northern Yemen since mid-March.

"We carried out two military operations targeting the American aircraft carriers: the USS S. Harry Truman and the USS Carl Vinson and their escorting warships in the Red and Arabian Seas, using cruise missiles and drones," Sarea said.

The Houthi military spokesperson stressed that the group is ready to confront the US military escalation of airstrikes, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We will continue to deal responsibly and appropriately with any developments in the coming days at all levels," he said, noting, "We will not stop supporting Palestinians until the Israeli aggression on Gaza stops and the blockade on it is lifted."

Early Tuesday, al-Masirah TV reported dozens of US airstrikes on several locations across northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. No casualties were reported as the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, rarely disclose their losses.

Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from targeting Israel and US warships.

--IANS

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