A US drone was brought down late Tuesday in Houthi rebels-controlled-area, Reuters reports citing two American officials who did not want to be named.
The aircraft, MQ-9, according to the sources, was shot down Southeast of capital Sanaa controlled by the rebels. The officials did not identify the entity that brought down the drone but Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a Central Command spokesman blamed the Houthi rebels for the action.
“We have been clear that Iran’s provocative actions and support to proxy forces, like the Iranian-backed Houthis, poses a serious threat to stability in the region and our partners,” Brown said in statement.
A Houthi spokesman had earlier been quoted by group’s Al-Masirah TV as saying that the Houthi movement’s air defenses had brought down a US drone, Reuters reports.
The US and several western countries have been providing logistical and technical support to a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen seeking to prop up the regime of Hadi Mansour.
Iran has been providing support for the Houthi rebels who control vast swathes of Northern Yemen.
