Yemeni Army, Committees Down ’Saudi Spy Drone’ in Yemen’s Saada
Local Editor
Yemeni army soldiers backed by fighters from popular committees have shot down a Saudi spy drone in the country’s northwestern province of Saada, as Saudi Arabia continues with its military aggression against the impoverished country.
A Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Khabar news agency that the Yemeni forces targeted the remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle on Friday as it was flying over Kataf district in the arid and mountainous province, which lies 240 kilometers north of the capital, Sanaa.
The small drone was later identified as a long-endurance Boeing Insitu ScanEagle; the ScanEagle has a flight endurance of over 20 hours.
It is not the first time that the army and the popular committees have downed a hostile spy drone in Yemen.
On July 6, a Saudi unmanned aerial vehicle was downed while conducting a surveillance mission in the same province of Saada.
The development came less than a day after Yemeni forces had targeted another Saudi surveillance drone in the southeastern province of Dhamar.
Also in May, Ansarullah revolutionary fighters took possession of a Saudi surveillance drone, which had parachute-landed in Saada due to a technical glitch.
A Saudi-led coalition backed by the United States has been carrying out a military aggression on Yemen by launching airstrikes against the country since March 26.
The airstrikes have not been authorized by the United Nations [UN].
As a result, the Yemeni army backed by popular committees and tribal fighters has been responding to the aggression by targeting several Saudi border military posts and cleansing several areas across the country from militants linked to al-Qaeda and the fugitive former Yemeni President, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
