Houthis shoot down reconnaissance drone near Mokha, group sources say

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group’s forces have shot down an armed reconnaissance drone while it was conducting “hostile missions” over Mokha in Taiz province.

“It was hit with a suitable weapon,” Saree said in a brief statement.

Sources told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that drone use on Yemen’s battlefield has intensified in recent days, with several of them dropping munitions on military positions.

The incident comes as Yemen has returned to the center of global attention, after the Iran-backed Houthis gained new territory earlier this month against the forces of the internationally recognized government, tightening their control over the Red Sea coastline.

Mokha, a strategic port on the Red Sea coast, has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks, as Yemen’s conflict escalates in parallel with the U.S.–Iran war.

Source: Al Jazeera