Houthis Claim To Down Saudi Drone As Red Sea Security Incident Reported

Yemen’s Houthi group on Sunday claimed it had shot down a Saudi-operated reconnaissance drone over the northern province of Al-Jawf, while a separate security incident involving a tanker was reported in the southern Red Sea.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on a social media platform that the group’s forces downed the drone with ‘appropriate weaponry’ while it was conducting what he described as ‘hostile operations’ in Al-Jawf’s airspace. He did not provide further details of the operation.

Earlier on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of a security incident after a tanker observed ‘a splash from an unknown projectile in proximity to the vessel’ in the southern Red Sea near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

According to UKMTO, the vessel and its crew remained safe.

The incidents follow the Houthis’ announcement last week of a maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping and their claims of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which prompted the Saudi-led coalition to launch airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.

On Saturday, state-run Yemen TV reported that coalition airstrikes targeted Houthi military sites in northern Yemen.

The Houthi group also claimed it carried out coordinated missile and drone strikes on Saudi energy facilities in the Jizan and Yanbu regions.

Yemen has remained embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.

Although a UN-mediated truce expired in 2022, a fragile de facto ceasefire has largely held.

The latest escalation has renewed concerns over regional security and the safety of shipping in the Red Sea.

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