Another US MQ-9 Reaper drone goes down in Yemen, images purportedly show
MQ-9 Reaper drone went down in Yemen, images online purported to show Wednesday, as Yemen's Houthi rebels continued attacks on shipping around the Red Sea over the Israel-Hamas war.
It wasn't immediately clear what brought down the drone, but the U.S. military's Central Command acknowledged seeing «reports» of the aircraft being downed in a desert region of Yemen's central Marib province. It marked potentially the third such downing this month alone.
Images published online and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the MQ-9 on its belly in the barren desert, its tail assembly disconnected from their rest of its body. At least one hatch on the drone appeared to have been opened after it landed there, though the drone remained broadly intact without any clear blast damage. One image included Wednesday's date. Noticeably, the drone did not appear to carry any markings on it.
Authorities in Marib, which remains held by allies of Yemen's exiled government, did not immediately acknowledge the drone. Nor did the Houthis, who previously have shot down MQ-9 drones during the war.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, told the AP that «the U.S. Air Force has not lost any aircraft operating within U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility.» The official declined to elaborate.
Other American paramilitary forces have flown the drone in Yemen.
Located 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Sanaa, Marib sits on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula's Empty Quarter Desert at
