An unmanned US military drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces, a defense official told CNN.
The official said the MQ-9 Reaper drone was operating in international airspace and over international waters when it was shot down. US Central Command is investigating the incident, the official said.
The shootdown, which the Iran-backed Houthi militants took responsibility for earlier on Wednesday, comes several weeks after a US Navy warship, the USS Carney, intercepted multiple missiles and drones fired by the Houthis as they were heading north along the Red Sea. The ship shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours, CNN previously reported, and their trajectory left little doubt that the projectiles were headed for Israel.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
An unmanned US military drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces, a defense official told CNN.
The ship shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of nine hours, CNN previously reported, and their trajectory left little doubt that the projectiles were headed for Israel.
A senior defense official called Iran “the center of gravity” for the attacks on US forces in the region, saying that “Iranian fingerprints are all over this.”
The US retaliated against the groups on October 26, launching airstrikes in Syria targeting infrastructure used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies.
CNN has reported that Iran is seeking to capitalize on the backlash to US support for Israel, and while Tehran may not be explicitly directing the groups’ attacks, it does appear to be encouraging them.
Following last month’s retaliatory strikes in Syria, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a strong warning to Tehran.
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