Yemeni forces shoot down Saudi-led surveillance drone

SANA’A (Agencies): Yemeni army forces, supported by allied fighters from the Popular Committees, have intercepted and targeted an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to the Saudi-led military coalition as it was flying in the skies over the country’s northwestern province of Hajjah.

The Spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree said Yemeni forces and their allies shot down the drone while it was on a reconnaissance mission in al-Tina area of the Hayran district on Tuesday morning.

He identified the downed aircraft as a Chinese-made Phantom unmanned aerial vehicle.

The development came only a day after Yemeni air defense forces and their allies shot down a Turkish-built Vestel Karayel drone with a precision missile.

Saree said the aircraft was struck as it was on a surveillance mission over al-Salif coastal village in Yemen’s western province of Hudaydah.

Earlier on Monday, Yemeni forces had intercepted and targeted a Saudi-led spy drone as it was flying over the Razih district of the country’s northwestern province of Sa’ada.

Also on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition launched four Katyusha rockets at a residential area in the al-Hali district of Hudaydah province, but there were no immediate reports about possible casualties and the extent of damage caused.

Saudi-led troops also sprayed houses and private properties in the Kilo 16 district of Hudaydah with bullets, damaging a number of them. No immediate reports of casualties were available though.