Houthi Shot Down Turkish-Made Saudi Combat Drone

The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, announced on Saturday that their Air Defense Force had shot down a combat drone of the Saudi-led coalition.

In a statement, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari, a spokesman for the Houthis, said that the drone, a Turkish-made Karayel, was shot down with a ground-to-air missile while it was carrying out “hostilities” over the northern Yemeni province of Hayran.

The Houthis didn’t provide any details about the missile used to down the Karayel. The group operates some upgraded Soviet air-defense systems as well as air-to-air missiles which had been modified to be launched from ground.

Last month, the Houthis shot down a Chinese-made CH-4 combat drone of the Saudi-led coalition over Ma’rib. These incidents demonstrate the Yemeni group’s growing air-defense capabilities.