Yemen: Houthis claim downing drone near Saudi border

ADEN, Yemen

The Houthi rebel group in Yemen claimed on Sunday that they shot down a reconnaissance drone near the Saudi Arabian border in the north of the country.

"We have shot down a US-made RQ-20 Puma-style reconnaissance plane in Harad, north of Yemen, near Jazan city of Saudi Arabia," Yahya Saree, the group’s spokesman, said on Twitter.

He also added that the operation was recorded by the information center.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sana’a.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis, including civilians, are believed to have been killed in the conflict, which has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as millions remain at risk of starvation.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin