AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthis claimed on Monday that they shot down another US drone over central Yemen, the third such claim this month. This comes as the Houthis abducted two Yemeni workers for international organizations.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement that their air defenses shot down a US military MQ-9 drone over the province of Dhamar that was conducting “hostile” missions using a locally made surface-to-air missile, bringing the total number of US drones claimed down by the Houthis to ten since the militia’s assault campaign on ships began in November. The Houthis recently claimed to have brought down two US military drones over the provinces of Marib and Saada. 

The Houthis have launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and drone boats at international commercial and naval ships in global shipping lanes off Yemen since November, claiming to be acting to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza. The Houthis said on Sunday that they fired the “new hypersonic” ballistic missile that struck the center of Israel’s capital.

This comes as the US Central Command said on Sunday night that its forces had destroyed one missile system in a Houthi-controlled Yemeni area, marking the latest round of US military attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to ship attacks. 

Meanwhile, Yemeni government officials and human rights organizations said on Monday that the Houthis had abducted two Yemeni workers with international aid organizations, as the Yemeni militia escalated attacks on people working for foreign aid and human rights organizations on espionage charges.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms, also known as YNRF, said the Houthis abducted a Yemeni worker of the UK-funded organization Oxfam in Saada, but did not specify the worker’s name or the date of the kidnapping. 

On Saturday, the Houthis abducted Abdullah Al-Baydani, a Yemeni information technology worker for the UN World Food Programme in Sanaa, the YNRF said. Yemen’s Human Rights Minister Ahmed Arman confirmed to Arab News the abduction of Al-Baydani.

Over the past three months, the Houthis have abducted at least 70 Yemeni workers from UN agencies, international rights and aid organizations, and diplomatic missions after raiding their homes and workplaces. 

The Houthis accuse Yemeni workers at those organizations of using their jobs as a cover for spying for US and Israeli intelligence agencies, allegations that the UN and other organizations strongly deny. 

According to the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms, the abducted workers have been subjected to torture, forcibly disappeared, and are unable to communicate with or see their families. 

“Abductees from international organizations and UN agencies are still subjected to violations such as torture, ill-treatment, incommunicado detention, and deprivation of communication with their families,” the Yemeni organization said.