The Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) Air Defense Force successfully downed a United States MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced early Tuesday.

Amid ongoing US aggression against Yemen, which has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties, the YAF targeted the hostile drone over the Marib governorate using a domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile, Saree stated.

The strike marks the 16th confirmed downing of an MQ-9 UAV by the YAF since the Israeli aggression on Gaza began in late 2023.

Saree stressed that the YAF will continue to bar Israeli-affiliated vessels from sailing in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. He also reaffirmed Yemen's steadfast position of supporting the Palestinian people until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip is halted. 

As for the continued American aggression on Yemen, the general said that the YAF will not hesitate when it comes to executing defensive operations against enemy vessels in the coming days.

Read more: YAF target 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport, as sirens sound in Tel Aviv

US aggression kills civilians in Yemen

Earlier, US warplanes launched airstrikes on Kamaran Island in the Red Sea, westernmost Yemen, according to reports from Al Mayadeen's correspondent. In turn, the Health Ministry in Yemen announced that 15 civilians were killed in US airstrikes on the Sanaa and Hajjah governorates, as well as the capital. 

Two people were killed, while a child was injured, in the US targeting of a Hilux vehicle in the al-Tour area, located in the Bani Qais district in the Hajjah Governorate, the ministry detailed. 

The US claims to have taken military action in the Red Sea to open up shipping lanes in the Middle East. However, the aggression comes after the Israeli regime relaunched its genocidal war on Gaza, which in turn led the YAF to renew its naval operations.

Read more: Yemeni Armed Forces target US carrier E-2 AEW aircraft: Exclusive