Yemen’s Ansarullah to Unveil 2 Domestic Air Defense Systems

According to the Arabic-language al-Masirah TV, Brigadier General Saree said the Yemeni Air Force and Air Defense will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. (local time) on Saturday, during which the two air defense systems will be unveiled.

During the press briefing, images showing the shooting down of enemy drones, including those related to a recent operation against a US MQ-9 Reaper, will be displayed for the first time, he said.

The Houthi forces intercepted and targeted the US unmanned aerial vehicle while flying in the skies over Yemen’s southwestern province of Dhamar on Tuesday.

Yemeni air defense forces shot down the US-built General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone with a precision missile early on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the Saudi-led war has claimed the lives of over 60,000 Yemenis since January 2016.

The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.