Yemen: 3 killed after Saudi ‘spy’ drone crashes in Sanaa

Sanaa: Three citizens were killed and three others injured after a Saudi “spy drone” crashed into a street in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, the Houthi militia announced on Tuesday.

The drone landed into a populous neighbourhood on Monday night, causing the casualties and property damage, Xinhua news agency quoted the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV as saying citing authorities.

The Houthis claimed that they have shot down the drone, noting that it was a “spy drone” of the Saudi-led coalition.

“With a surface-to-air missile (SAM), our air defence shot down the drone that was hovering over Sanaa in violation of the truce,” the militia’s spokesman Yehya Sarea said.

There was no comment yet from the coalition or the Yemeni government.

In the past two weeks, the Houthi group claimed to have downed two other “spy drones” in the northwestern province of Hajjah amid the two-month truce starting April 2.

So far, the truce has been largely held despite sporadic small-scale clashes.

On May 19, the Houthi militia said they are considering a request by the UN envoy to extend the ongoing truce with the coalition-backed Yemeni government, which expires on June 2.

The truce marks the first breakthrough in more than seven years in efforts to end the war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.

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