US drone shot down in Yemen

A US military MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down over western Yemen on Sunday, the Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Adrian Rankin, told CNN today.

“This incident is under investigation,” Rankin added two days before the Houthi-controlled Defence Ministry announced that it had downed an American made surveillance drone in the outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

The US military is conducting two primary missions in Yemen, non-combat support to the Saudi-led coalition and a counterterrorism mission that targets Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

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The US provides “non-combat advisory and coordinating” support to the Saudi-led coalition and the Department of Defence “provides refuelling support to coalition aircraft and intelligence support to assist Saudi Arabia in preventing cross-border attacks,” Rankine-Galloway said.

The US forces also conduct counterterrorism operations in Yemen targeting the local affiliate of Al-Qaeda, in the Arabian Peninsula.

Since January 2017, the US military has conducted over 100 strikes in Yemen against Al-Qaeda targets according to the Pentagon.