Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Rebels Claim Downing US Drone Over Yemen
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 21, 2019

Share

CAIRO — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they shot down a U.S. drone over the country’s north, as a leading rights group said Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis killed at least 47 Yemeni fishermen in bombing attacks on fishing boats last year.

“We have been clear that Iran’s provocative actions and support to militants and proxies, like the Iranian-backed Houthis, poses a serious threat to stability in the region and our partners.” — U.S. Army Lt. Col. Earl Brown
Yahia Sarie, a military spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthis, said in a statement their air defenses downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone on Tuesday over the northern city of Dhamar.
“The rocket which hit it was developed locally and will be revealed soon at a press conference,” he said.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement that it was investigating the Houthi claims that they attacked an unmanned U.S. drone “operating in authorized airspace” over Yemen.
“We have been clear that Iran’s provocative actions and support to militants and proxies, like the Iranian-backed Houthis, poses a serious threat to stability in the region and our partners,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a CENTCOM spokesman.
This was the second U.S. drone allegedly downed by the Yemeni rebels. In June, the U.S. said an MQ-9 Reaper was shot down by the Houthis. It said Iran helped the Yemeni rebels bring down the drone.
For more than a decade, the U.S. has waged a drone war against al-Qaida in Yemen, trying to eliminate one of the most dangerous branches of the terror network. Rights groups have criticized the attacks because of its civilian casualties. An Associated Press investigation found that at least 30 civilians were killed in such attacks in 2018.

The Saudi-Led Coalition Carried out at Least Five Deadly Attacks

The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthis, who drove out the internationally recognized government. In March 2015, the coalition launched its air campaign to prevent the rebels from overrunning the south.
Also on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the Saudi-led coalition carried out at least five deadly attacks on Yemeni fishing boats in 2018, killing at least 47 Yemeni fishermen, including seven children.
The New York-based group also said that more than 100 Yemeni fishermen are being held in Saudi Arabia, some of whom have been tortured in custody.
There was no immediate response by the coalition to the HRW allegations.
The rights group said it interviewed “survivors, witnesses, and knowledgeable sources about seven fishing boat attacks: six in 2018 and one in 2016.” Civilians died in five attacks carried out by small arms and heavy weapons.
It said the fishermen waved white cloths, raised their hands, or otherwise showed they posed no threat. In three attacks, coalition forces did not attempt to rescue survivors adrift at sea, and many drowned, HRW said.
The group said the Saudi-led coalition officials who ordered or carried out the attacks or tortured detainees “are most likely responsible for war crimes.”
[activecampaign form=29]  

Airstrikes Have Hit Schools, Hospitals and Weddings

“The naval attacks on Yemeni fishing boats make it clear that the Saudi-led coalition is not only killing civilians through countless illegal airstrikes, but also while conducting operations at sea,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, HRW’s acting emergencies director.

“The naval attacks on Yemeni fishing boats make it clear that the Saudi-led coalition is not only killing civilians through countless illegal airstrikes, but also while conducting operations at sea.” — Priyanka Motaparthy, HRW’s acting emergencies director
The group urged a United Nations investigation into the attacks, and the U.N. Security Council on officers and commanders responsible for violations of the laws of war.
It also called for the U.S. and other Western countries to “immediately cease all sales and transfers of weapons” to Saudi Arabia.
“How much more proof do countries continuing to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia need to stop all sales, including of warships, or risk becoming complicit in war crimes,” Motaparthy said.
HRW says that the Iran-backed Houthis have also attacked commercial traffic in the Red Sea.
Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and weddings, killing thousands of Yemeni civilians. The Houthis have used drones and missiles to attack neighboring Saudi Arabia and have also targeted vessels in the Red Sea.
Iran has repeatedly denied supplying the Houthis with drone or missile technology, both of which the rebels have increasingly used, including to target Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has claimed that Iran supplied the missiles or at least helped the Houthis manufacture them from parts that were in Yemen before the war.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

DON'T MISS

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

DON'T MISS

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US Forces Bombed Iran Nuclear Sites, Says ‘Fordow Is Gone’

DON'T MISS

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

DON'T MISS

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

DON'T MISS

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

DON'T MISS

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

UP NEXT

Muslim Countries to Set up Contact Group to Seek Israel-Iran De-Escalation

UP NEXT

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

UP NEXT

Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’

UP NEXT

Oil to Open Higher as US Strikes on Iran Boost Supply Risk Premium

UP NEXT

US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

UP NEXT

US Bombing of Iran Started With a Fake-Out

UP NEXT

Pakistan Condemns Trump’s Bombing of Iran a Day After Nominating Him for Peace Prize

UP NEXT

World Awaits Iran’s Response After Trump Says US ‘Obliterates’ Nuclear Sites

UP NEXT

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

UP NEXT

Investors Brace for Oil Price Spike, Rush to Havens After US Bombs Iran Nuclear Sites

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

11 hours ago

Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’

11 hours ago

Oil to Open Higher as US Strikes on Iran Boost Supply Risk Premium

11 hours ago

US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

11 hours ago

US Bombing of Iran Started With a Fake-Out

12 hours ago

Pakistan Condemns Trump’s Bombing of Iran a Day After Nominating Him for Peace Prize

12 hours ago

World Awaits Iran’s Response After Trump Says US ‘Obliterates’ Nuclear Sites

12 hours ago

Mariska Hargitay Comes to Terms With a Lifetime of Family Secrets

13 hours ago

Mysterious Ancient Humans Now Have a Face

13 hours ago

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

1 day ago

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

WASHINGTON  -An advisory from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned on Sunday of a “heightened threat environment in the Uni...

11 hours ago

A "No war on Iran" banner is held as people attend an anti-war demonstration in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as they are flanked by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and members of Turkish and Iranian delegations, during the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Istanbul, Turkey, June 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Muslim Countries to Set up Contact Group to Seek Israel-Iran De-Escalation

11 hours ago

Visalia Police Seek Public’s Help in Sexual Assault Investigation

President Donald Trump speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves following a meeting in the White House, in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt)
11 hours ago

Despite Clashes With US Presidents, Israel’s Netanyahu Usually Gets His Way

Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’

An oil tanker is being loaded at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia May 21, 2018. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Oil to Open Higher as US Strikes on Iran Boost Supply Risk Premium

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing at the Pentagon, after the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities, during the Israel-Iran conflict, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., June 22, 2025 in this still image taken from handout video. Reuters TV/U.S. Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
11 hours ago

US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran June 22, 2025. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS
12 hours ago

US Bombing of Iran Started With a Fake-Out

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend