Yemen’s Houthi rebels have reported shooting down another American-made MQ-9 drone flying over their country, leading to the U.S. responding with airstrikes over Houthi-controlled territory, according to the rebels. The U.S. military has not immediately commented on the claim made by the rebels, who did not provide any visual evidence to support their assertion. The Houthis have previously downed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones, particularly increasing such attacks since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict and their targeting of shipping in the Red Sea corridor.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree stated in a video message that the drone was shot down over Yemen’s Marib province, an area with significant oil and gas fields that has been under the control of Saudi-led coalition allies fighting the rebels since 2015. While Saree did not elaborate on the method used to bring down the aircraft, there have been reports of Iran supplying the rebels with a surface-to-air missile known as the 358, despite Tehran denying such allegations.

The Houthis, as per Saree, are carrying out their activities in support of the Palestinian cause and in defense of Yemen. The MQ-9 Reaper drones, each costing around $30 million, can operate at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) and stay airborne for up to 24 hours before requiring a landing. Following the claim of shooting down the drone, the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel mentioned multiple U.S.-led airstrikes near the city of Ibb. The U.S. military has not confirmed these strikes, although they have been intensifying their attacks on Houthi targets since January.

The Houthis have reportedly targeted over 80 merchant vessels using missiles and drones since the start of the conflict in Gaza, seizing one vessel and sinking two, which resulted in the death of four sailors. The rebels claim they target ships associated with Israel, the U.S., or the U.K. to halt Israel’s operations against Hamas; however, some attacked ships have no apparent connection to the conflict. One of the attacked vessels, the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, faced salvage complications last week, risking a spill of its 1 million barrels of oil.