Report: Yemen’s Houthis now sporting deadlier drones

Jack Detsch

Feb 18, 2020

Missiles and drone aircraft are seen on display at an exhibition at an unidentified location in Yemen in this undated handout photo released by the Houthi Media Office on September 17, 2019. Houthi Media Office/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC167A191840 — Missiles and drone aircraft are seen on display at an exhibition at an unidentified location in Yemen in this undated handout photo released by the Houthi Media Office on Sept. 17, 2019. — Houthi Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

Drones used by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are becoming deadlier and more accurate over long ranges, according to a report released Wednesday.

While the Yemeni group had been using earlier variants of Iran-linked drones in kamikaze-style attacks that sought to smash directly into targets, newer models discharge explosives and shrapnel, such as in an attack on a Yemeni military parade in al-Anad last year that killed six people and wounded several more.

“It’s not just an evolution in their technology, but their ability to reach targets beyond the conflict,” said Jonah Leff, the director of operations at Conflict Armament Research, known by the acronym CAR, which analyzed nine drones seized from the battlefield by the United Arab Emirates.

The CAR report states that the parts used in drones are “identical or similar” to improvised explosive devices found in Yemen and Bahrain.

Report: Yemen’s Houthis now sporting deadlier drones

Yemen's Houthis are using newer and deadlier drone models that discharge explosives and shrapnel, according to a report.

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