Yemeni Army Downs US-Made ScanEagle Reconnaissance Drone

By Staff, Agencies

Yemeni forces have intercepted and shot down another US-built Boeing Insitu ScanEagle spy drone belonging to the invading Saudi-led alliance amid the Saudi intensified spying flights over Yemen’s oil-producing province of Marib,

Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a post published on his Twitter page on Saturday that Yemeni air defense units used a “suitable” domestically-developed surface-to-air missile to shoot down the American unmanned aerial vehicle as it was carrying out hostile acts over the al-Jubah district.

He said further details about the operation and its footage will be released soon.

The Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is a long-endurance, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] built by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, and is used for reconnaissance.

On November 9, the Yemeni army forces and their allies shot down a Saudi ScanEagle reconnaissance drone as the aircraft was flying over the same district of Marib province.

Also, Yemeni armed forces, backed by allied fighters from the Popular Committees, shot down another Saudi-led US ScanEagle reconnaissance drone on September 27 as it was on a spying mission over the Medghal district of the same Yemeni province.

Separately, Saudi war planes have launched airstrikes against the public airport in Yemen’s southern province of Taizz in a fresh escalation of the Riyadh regime's war on the impoverished nation.

The Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported that the warplanes hit Taizz International Airport twice overnight. There were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage.

Saudi military aircraft also pounded the Sirwah district in Marib province on 21 occasions. They also struck the al-Jubah district in the same Yemeni district. No reports about damage and possible casualties were quickly available.

Moreover, Saudi army forces fired indiscriminate shots towards a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern Saada province, injuring at least five civilians.

Yemen’s al-Masirah TV channel reported that the shooting targeted the border district of Monabbih on Friday. There were four African refugees among the casualties.