Tehran -- The air defense systems of Yemen’s armed forces have brought down a second American spy plane intruding over the country’s skies. According to a Yemeni armed forces spokesperson the ScanEagle has been carrying out hostile actions in Marib province.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree says "The air defenses managed, by the grace of God, shortly before to shoot down an American spy plane (ScanEagle) with a surface-to-air missile over the al-Mashjah area in the Serwah district of Ma'rib province". On Sunday, Yemen’s air defenses managed to shoot down the same type of unmanned aerial vehicle in the same region. The army later released footage showing the downing of the spy drone.

According to Yemen’s al-Masirah news channel, the drone was built by Insitu ScanEagle, a subsidiary of the American Boeing company, at a cost of $11.25 million dollars per drone.

It is a reconnaissance drone that works to locate targets accurately from the air. It is also equipped with an electro-optical surveillance camera and another infrared camera. Yemeni forces are inching closer to liberating Marib from Saudi backed militants. The strategic oil-rich city is the last stronghold under the control of Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

Many analysts see a victory for the Yemeni armed forces in the battle for Marib as the end of Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen. Riyadh launched the bombing campaign in May 2015. Back then, Saudi officials said the military intervention would take three weeks to complete. More than six years later it appears that Riyadh is stuck in a quagmire that is difficult to get out off.