U.S. drone downed in Yemen

Iran-backed Houthi rebels say they shot down MQ-9 Reaper.

CAIRO — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they shot down a U.S. drone over the country’s north, as a leading rights group said Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis killed at least 47 Yemeni fishermen in bombing attacks on fishing boats last year.

Yahia Sarie, a military spokesman for the Iranbacked Houthis, said in a statement their air defenses downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone Tuesday over the northern city of Dhamar. He said the drone was hit by a missile.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it was aware of claims that an MQ-9 Reaper drone had been shot down over Yemen, but declined to elaborate.

In June, the U.S. said an MQ-9 Reaper was shot down by the Houthis. It said Iran helped the Yemeni rebels bring down the drone.

The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sana by the Houthis, who drove out the internationally recognized government. In March 2015, the coalition launched its air campaign to prevent the rebels from overrunning the south.

Also on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the Saudi-led coalition carried out at least five deadly attacks on Yemeni fishing boats in 2018, killing at least 47 Yemeni fishermen, including seven children.

The New York-based group also said that more than 100 Yemeni fishermen are being held in Saudi Arabia, some of whom have been tortured in custody.

There was no immediate response by the coalition to the group’s allegations.

The rights group said it interviewed “survivors, witnesses, and knowledgeable sources about seven fishing boat attacks: six in 2018 and one in 2016.” Civilians died in five attacks involving small arms and heavy weapons.

It said the fishermen waved white cloths, raised their hands or otherwise showed they posed no threat. In three attacks, coalition forces did not attempt to rescue survivors adrift at sea, and many drowned, the group said.

The group said the Saudi-led coalition officials who ordered or carried out the attacks or tortured detainees “are most likely responsible for war crimes,” and it called for a United Nations investigation.

It also called for the U.S. and other Western countries to “immediately cease all sales and transfers of weapons” to Saudi Arabia.

“How much more proof do countries continuing to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia need to stop all sales ... or risk becoming complicit in war crimes,” Human Rights Watch official Priyanka Motaparthy said.