Houthis down US drone, target merchant ship in Gulf of Aden

Yemen’s Houthi-aligned armed forces announced yesterday that they had successfully shot down an American MQ-9 drone over Saada province using a locally made surface-to-air missile. Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sarie noted that this was the seventh drone of its kind downed during the ongoing “Promised Conquest and the Holy Jihad” in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

🇾🇪🇺🇸 Houthis shot down a seventh US MQ-9 reaper over Yemen. pic.twitter.com/YPv8DSd4NH

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) August 4, 2024

In a separate operation, Saree confirmed that Houthi naval and missile forces executed a joint strike on the Liberian-flagged MV Groton in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles. The attack was reportedly due to the vessel’s associated company breaching the Houthi-declared ban on entering ports in occupied Palestine.

The Joint Maritime Information Centre, led by the US Navy, said that the crew of the Groton was safe and the vessel was diverting to a nearby port. The ship had been en route from Fujairah in the UAE to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The operation marks the first Houthi-claimed attacks since Israel’s air strike on Hodeidah port on 20 July, which followed a successful drone attack on Tel Aviv by the movement. The Houthi-led Sanaa government has reiterated its commitment to continue military operations until the Israeli offensive ceases and the siege on Gaza is lifted.

The latest attack comes amid heightened fears of a regional war following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran last week. Israel has been widely blamed for the murder, something that it has neither confirmed nor denied.

Haniyeh’s killing prompted mass anti-Israel protests across the region, including the Yemeni capital, where local citizens waved Palestinian flags and held up images of the popular Hamas leader.

Ali Al-Qahoum, a member of the Houthi political bureau, said that the response for Israel’s assassinations will not just come from Iran: “We affirm our commitment to the battle, steadfastness, awareness, honour and pride in standing with Palestine, the cause of the [Arab] nation.”

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