Yemen's Houthis say they downed US drone over al-Bayda province

DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthis downed a U.S. MQ9 drone over al-Bayda province in southern Yemen, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson said in a televised statement on Tuesday.

Yahya Saree said the drone was targeted with a locally made surface-to-air missile and that videos to support the claim would be released.

The Houthis said last Friday they downed another U.S. MQ9 drone over the southeastern province of Maareb.

The group, which controls Yemen's capital and most populous areas of the Arabian Peninsula state, has attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas militants, drawing U.S. and British retaliatory strikes since February.

(Reporting by Clauda Tanios; editing by Mark Heinrich)