Pentagon Investigating Yemeni Houthi Claim They Shot Down Drone
Pentagon Investigating Yemeni Houthi Claim They Shot Down Drone
(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon is looking into a claim by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they downed a U.S. a drone operating in airspace over the war-torn country.
“We are investigating reports of an attack by Iranian-backed Houthis forces
on a U.S. unmanned aircraft system operating in authorized airspace over Yemen,” Lieutenant Colonel Earl Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement on Wednesday. “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."
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV reported on its website that the rebels shot down the U.S.-made drone on Tuesday in the Dhammar area of the country. The U.S. operates the aircraft in Yemen as part of its fight against al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants.
The alleged attack comes amid worsening clashes between forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized authorities and a southern separatist group. The escalation followed a decision by the United Arab Emirates to scale back its military presence in Yemen more than four years after joining Saudi Arabia in a war to crush the Houthi rebels.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Washington at gcarey8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Lin Noueihed, Larry Liebert
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