Houthis Claim Having Shot Down American MQ-9 Reaper Drone Off Yemen Coast

The Pentagon has launched an investigation.

The Houthis said they shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone off the coast of Yemen. According to US officials, the Pentagon is investigating the cause of the drone crash, The New York Times reports.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the MQ-9 Reaper drone went down.

Iran-backed militants said on Monday, February 19, that they had shot down a drone near the port city of Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen.

If the Houthis' claims are true, it will be the second time the group has shot down a US drone since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.

The downing of a Reaper drone, the mainstay of the US military's air surveillance fleet, marks the latest escalation between the US and Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

These episodes have intensified over the past two months, highlighting the risk that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could escalate into a wider one.