Yemen's Houthis say shot down U.S. MQ-9 Reaper

SANAA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels said they shot down a MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle over the Yemeni central province of Dhamar on Tuesday night, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

"The U.S. drone was shot down by a locally-made missile," the television quoted a statement by the group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea as saying.

There were no immediate comments from the United States or its ally Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a military coalition against Iran-allied Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen for over four years.

In June, the U.S. Central Command confirmed that a MQ-9 drone was shot down over Yemen, suggesting that Iran was involved in it. Iran had denied the allegation.