Yemen’s Huthi rebels shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, a senior US defense official said Wednesday, confirming an earlier claim by the Iran-backed group.

The Huthis — who have downed an American drone before — said the MQ-9 was spying as part of US support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

“A US military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Huthi forces,” the official said.

The Huthis — who seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swathes of the country — claimed the shootdown earlier in the day.

“Our air defences were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support” for Israel, the Huthis said in a statement.

The United States rushed military support to Israel and bolstered American forces in the region after Hamas militants carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

Israel’s military responded with a relentless air, land and naval assault on Gaza that the territory’s health ministry says has left more than 10,500 people dead, sparking widespread anger in the region.

The Huthis have targeted Israel on multiple occasions in recent weeks, and the US Navy intercepted several missiles fired by the Huthis last month.

 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the Congress Party was responsible for the partition of the country.

Addressing a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur, CM Adityanath said, “The Congress Party was responsible for the partition of the country, which led to the creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh.”

“Had the Congress leaders not had the excessive desire for power, the country would not have been divided and would have been united. Iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had done the work of revival of Somnath as soon as the country got independence in 1947, but the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had opposed it,” he added.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister further stated that the BJP is standing with the public in Madhya Pradesh and this is well reflected in their actions after fielding Union Ministers in elections.

“By fielding Union Ministers in the Assembly elections, the BJP has told the public that each one of our workers will stand up for you through thick and thin,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath also said that BJP leader Prahlad Singh Patel is a warrior hardened by barefoot struggles against the anarchy and hooliganism of Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

“Crowd of thousands here is a witness to the fact that people already consider Prahlad ji as a leader and they are ready to work continuously in his struggles,” he said.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states set to undergo polls on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies.

A sessions court here has convicted and imposed the death penalty on a man for killing an old woman and a two-year-old girl in 2017 by setting them on fire, noting the case falls under the “rarest of rare” category.

Sessions Judge A Subramaniam, in a judgment delivered on November 7, noted the crime committed by the accused, Deepak Jath, undoubtedly falls under the category of “the rarest of rare” cases warranting the death penalty.

The prosecution case is that in April 2017, Jath poured some liquid on four persons — two women, a 17-year-old girl and a two-year-old girl — and set them on fire in suburban Bandra, leading to their death. One of the women and the two-year-old girl died due to burn injuries.

The case is that Jath had earlier harassed the 17-year-old girl and was irked when he was admonished for the same. The court refused to accept Jath’s claim he was not mentally sound.

“I believe that the manner of causing death and pouring inflammable material on the victims, and clod bloodedly lighting them up which included an old helpless lady and a small child of couple of years shows the dastardly act and classifies it as such,” the court said.

“Society abhors such crimes which shock the conscience of the society and always attracts intense and extreme indignation of the community,” it noted.

Jath had, in his defence, claimed he was irked with one of the victims who had used certain derogatory words against him.

The court, however, said, “Can that be said to be provocation or adequate provocation for committing such a ghastly act. I feel the answer lies in the question itself.”