WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2019) The United States has confirmed that Houthi rebels shot down a US drown in Yemen, a Department of Defense spokesperson told Sputnik.
"Yes, that's accurate," the spokesperson said when asked to confirm earlier media reports on Wednesday.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in statement that it is investigating reports of an attack.
"We are investigating reports of an attack by Iranian-backed Houthis forces on a U.S. unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operating in authorized airspace over Yemen," CENTCOM spokesman Army Lt. Col. Earl Brown said. "We have been clear that Iran's provocative actions and support to militants and proxies, like the Iranian-backed Houthis, poses a series threat to stability in the region and other partners."
A CENTCOM spokesperson declined to share any additional details about the incident.
Earlier on Wednesday, Yemen's Ansar Allah rebels (Houthi movement) said on Tuesday their air defense had shot down a US multipurpose drone MQ-9 over the province of Dhamar in the central part of the country.
The Houthi spokesperson warned that the Saudi-led Arab coalition "should think a thousand times before invading Yemen's airspace," because the rebels had the opportunity to prevent alien aircraft from appearing in the skies over Yemen.
Yemen, a small nation in the south of the Arabian peninsula, has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the rebel Houthi movement for several years.
The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015, with the rebels retaliating against the attacks. US drones are often used in Yemen to destroy suspected terrorists.
