Yemen’s Houthis claim downing Saudi drone; Red Sea tanker reports close splash

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

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on social media platform X that the group’s forces downed the drone with “appropriate weaponry” while it was conducting what he called “hostile operations” in Al-Jawf’s airspace. He did not elaborate on the operation, Xinhua news agency reported.

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 close proximity to the vessel” in the southern Red Sea, near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The vessel and its crew were reported safe.

The latest incidents came after the Houthis announced a maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping last week and claimed attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to launch airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen.

On Saturday, state-run Yemen TV reported that airstrikes struck Houthi military sites in northern Yemen. Meanwhile, the Houthi group said it had carried out coordinated missile and drone strikes on Saudi energy facilities in Jizan and Yanbu regions.

Yemen has been mired 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 raised fresh concerns over regional security and the safety of Red Sea shipping.

Houthi group claimed on Saturday that it has launched missile and drone attacks on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan and Yanbu regions in response to overnight airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Houthi-held areas in western Yemen.

IANS