US military drone shot down near Yemen, say US officials

WASHINGTON: A US military Mq-9 drone was shot down near Yemen by Iran-backed militants, two US officials said on Tuesday, the second time such a shoot down has taken place in recent months during a near daily tit-for-tat between the group and US forces.

The Huthis, who have controlled most of Yemen for nearly a decade, have carried out repeated drone and missile strikes since November in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait against commercial and military ships. US and British forces have responded with multiple strikes on Huthi facilities but have so far failed to halt the attacks.

One of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said initial information showed that the US drone, made by General Atomics, was hit near Hodeidah on Monday.

The official said information could change and did not say if the drone was in international airspace. The second official said the drone was shot down by a Huthi surface-to-air missile fired from near Hodeida.