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On September 27th, the Houthis (as Ansar Allah are known) claimed the downing of a drone in the western sky of the Yemeni Marib province.
According to the spokesman of the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Sari’, the Houthi air defense system shot down the drone this morning over the Madghal district in the western part of Marib province.
The air defenses shot down an American spy plane (Scan Eagle) with a suitable weapon, while it was carrying out hostile actions in the airspace of the Madghal district of Ma’rib governorate.
— Yahya Sare’e (@Yahya_Saree) September 27, 2021
No photographs were released to prove the claims.
The drone belonging to the Saudi-led coalition reportedly turned out to be a US-made Scan Eagle.
The ScanEagle 2, the second version of this UAV, has a top speed of 148 km and an endurance of more than 16 hours. The drone is mainly used for reconnaissance missions. It is equipped a day and night capable sensor, a fully digital video system and an advanced navigation system.
In the last few years, the Houthis have significantly developed their air-defense capabilities.
The last UAV that was shot over Yemen was a Chengdu Wing Loong II UAV, which was downed on September 14 over the Kitaf district in the northern Yemeni province of Saadah.
On September 27, it was the fourth US-made Scan Eagle to be shot down over the Yemeni territory. The first one was downed on June 20, while the second was shot down two days later. The third one was spotted on August 14.
All of them were used for reconnaissance over the Yemeni Ma’rib province, one of the main battlefields in the country.
Bloody clashes between the Houthis and the Saudi-led forces continue in the southern and western parts of Marib province.
On September 26, the clashes reached the bases of Um Rish and al-Khushaynah, where the Saudi-led coalition has managed to deploy its defense forces.
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Another Houthi success was an attack on a gathering of Saudi-led coalition forces in the Midi disrtrict in the northern province of Hajjah. According to the Saudi source, at least one Houthi missile killed six members of the Saudi coalition, and 15 others were wounded during the commemoration of the September 26 Revolution.
A similar attack took place the same day in Ma’rib province.
