Sanaa, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed that its forces shot down a Saudi armed reconnaissance drone over the northeastern Marib province and intercepted Saudi fighter jets over Yemen’s western coast.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement broadcast by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV on Wednesday evening that the group had “shot down an armed reconnaissance drone belonging to the Saudi enemy” while it was conducting what he described as hostile operations over Marib.
Sarea said the drone was brought down using what he called an appropriate weapon.
In a separate development, Sarea said Houthi forces intercepted two formations of Saudi F-15 fighter jets at around 6:40 p.m. local time. According to his statement, the aircraft had taken off from Khamis Mushait air base in southwestern Saudi Arabia and entered Yemeni airspace over Mocha in the western Taiz province.
He said the interception involved several locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles and claimed that the fighter jets were forced to leave the area before carrying out any hostile operation.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthis had claimed that they shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile.
The group also accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out more than 450 airstrikes across seven Yemeni provinces during the previous week. These claims have not been independently verified.
The claims come amid continuing conflict in Yemen and heightened military activity along the country’s Red Sea coast.
The Houthis have claimed major territorial gains along the coast, including the capture of the strategic port city of Mocha on September 10 and Mayun Island on September 11. Mayun lies at the centre of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen’s conflict escalated in late 2014 after the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
FOLLOW NOW
