As the Houthis intensify their efforts to target American aircraft over Yemen, drones were destroyed between March 31 and April 22 according to defense officials.
Three drones were lost in just one week, which suggests that the Houthis’ ability to strike high-altitude US aircraft has improved.
When they crashed into water or land, the drones, each costing about $30 million, were engaged in surveillance or attack missions. According to The Associated Press news agency, the strikes took place on March 31 and on April 3rd, 9, 13, 18, 19, and 22, according to a defense official.
Since March 15, when US President Donald Trump imposed daily strikes against the group, hundreds of civilians have been reported killed in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas.
According to Dave Eastburn, a spokesman for Central Command, US forces have struck more than 800 targets, destroying command centers, weapons depots, and air defenses, and killing hundreds of Houthi leaders and leaders. This assertion was not subject to independent investigation.
The drone losses are being looked into but are likely the result of hostile fire, according to another US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In protest of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the Houthis have primarily targeted Israeli, US, and British ships through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. If Israel consented to a permanent ceasefire, the organization claimed the attacks would stop.
Toll of civilian deaths rising
The Houthi movement’s leaders appear to have deliberately targeted targets in the Trump administration, shifting from focusing on just infrastructure to intentionally striking people.
According to Airwars, a monitoring organization with headquarters in the UK, the strategic change comes as the US-led campaign is causing more civilian casualties.
According to Airwars, between 27 and 55 civilians have died as a result of US strikes in March. Although full figures are unknown, the group holds up the belief that the toll will be significantly higher in April.
At least 80 people were killed and more than 150 were hurt in a US air strike that targeted the Ras Isa port, which is located in Hodeidah earlier this month.
In Yemen’s capital Sanaa, an additional attack on Monday that left 12 dead and more than 30 others injured.
Washington is becoming more concerned about the campaign’s human costs.
Senators Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, and Tim Kaine have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ask whether the administration is giving in to reducing civilian harm, especially in light of reports about the Ras Isa fuel terminal’s high civilian death toll.
Source: Aljazeera
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