A US MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the sea off the coast of Yemen after being hit by a missile fired by Houthi rebels, the US Department of Defense said.

“The plane was shot down by a Houthi surface-based missile,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told the media yesterday. So this incident happened on Monday.

This is the second time in a few months that Houthi fighters have shot down a US drone. This last happened in November 2023.

The Houthis targeted cargo ships carrying humanitarian aid

According to US reports, the Houthis fired two anti-ship missiles at the Greek-flagged US container ship Sea Champion.

A missile exploded near the ship, causing minor damage, US Central Command said. The cargo ship was on its way to Aden, Yemen, with humanitarian aid. An insider said the attack was accidental.

Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since mid-November. The Houthis consider themselves part of a self-proclaimed “axis of resistance” directed against Israel, which includes radical Islamist Hamas and Lebanon's Shiite militia Hezbollah.