Houthis tried to recover US drone they shot down, Pentagon says

While US drones have been shot down by Houthis in the past, this incident comes at a particularly tense time in the region.

 People browse through the rubble of a house destroyed by Houthi missile attack in Marib, Yemen, October 3, 2021 (photo credit: REUTERS/ALI OWIDHA)
People browse through the rubble of a house destroyed by Houthi missile attack in Marib, Yemen, October 3, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALI OWIDHA)

Yemen's Houthis attempted to recover a US drone they had shot down and that landed in the Red Sea, but it is unlikely they will recover anything of significance, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement and US officials said a US MQ-9 drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen.

"We know that there was an attempt by Houthis to try and recover them MQ-9 but it is unlikely that they will be able to retrieve anything of significance," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

Singh added that the United States was not currently looking to recover the downed drone.

Tensions rise in the Middle East

While US drones have been shot down by Houthis in the past, this incident comes at a particularly tense time in the region.

 The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) fires a Standard Missile (SM) 2 to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, Oct. 19, 2023. (credit: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau/US Navy)
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) fires a Standard Missile (SM) 2 to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, Oct. 19, 2023. (credit: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau/US Navy)

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war.

In 2019, US drones were brought down on two separate occasions by the group in Yemen.