Yemeni forces shoot down Saudi-led reconnaissance drone in Najran

An unnamed source in the Yemeni air defense forces told the media bureau of the Houthi Ansarullah movement that Yemeni forces and their allies shot down the drone with a surface-to-air missile as it was on a reconnaissance mission over al-Sawh area of the region, situated 844 kilometers (524 miles) south of the capital Riyadh, on Monday evening.

The development came only two days after Yemeni soldiers shot down a Saudi-led drone as it was flying in the skies over Kilo 16 district of Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah.

Separately on Monday, Yemeni troops also destroyed an armored vehicle belonging to Saudi-paid militiamen in Sawh area, killing and injuring several mercenaries in the process.

Houthis gain more ground against Saudi-led militants in Ma’ribFighters from Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement gain more ground against Saudi-led militants in the oil-rich Ma’rib Province.

Saudi mercenaries also sought to infiltrate into the positions of Yemeni army soldiers and their allies in al-Atfin al-Ajasher area of Najran, but they were repelled and suffered losses in terms of personnel and military hardware.

Elsewhere in the al-Tuhayta district of Yemeni province of Hudaydah, Saudi forces and their mercenaries launched a barrage of artillery rounds at residential neighborhoods. There were no immediate reports about possible casualties or the extent of damage caused.

Saudi fighter jets also pounded al-Maslub district in the northern Yemeni province of al-Jawf, though no reports of casualties or the extent of damage were quickly available.

Saudi Arabia biggest loser in war against YemenFive years into war on Yemen, Saudis are caught off guard by Yemenis’ recent massive offensive.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past nearly five years.

The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.