US military drone shot down over Yemen

International Desk: A U.S. military MQ-9 drone was shot down in Yemen, a U.S. official confirmed to media.

The drone was shot down late on Tuesday in Yemen’s Dhamar governate, southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, officials said.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for shooting down the drone, saying in a statement that their air defenses downed the MQ9 drone with a missile.

The U.S. military's Central Command later said in a statement that it was investigating the Houthi claims that they attacked an unmanned U.S. drone "operating in authorized airspace" over Yemen.

"We have been clear that Iran's provocative actions and support to militants and proxies, like the Iranian-backed Houthis, poses a serious threat to stability in the region and our partners," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a CENTCOM spokesman.

This was not the first time Houthi rebels have shot down a U.S. drone in Yemen.
In June, officials said that a U.S.-operated MQ-9 drone was shot down by the Iranian-backed rebels.

The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthis, who drove out the internationally recognized government. In March 2015, the coalition launched its air campaign to prevent the rebels from overrunning the south.

Also on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said the Saudi-led coalition carried out at least five deadly attacks on Yemeni fishing boats in 2018, killing at least 47 Yemeni fishermen, including seven children.

risingbd/Aug 22, 2019/Mukul