US accuses Iranian regime of helping Houthis down drone over Yemen

"A US MQ-9 was shot down over Yemen by what we assess to be a SA-6 surface to air missile on Jun 6," Lieutenant-Colonel Earl Brown, a spokesman for the US Central Command, said in a statement on June 16.

Brown added that the altitude at which the drone was shot down marked "an improvement over previous capability, which we assess was enabled by Iranian regime assistance."

US ally Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition backing Yemen's government in its four-year war with the Houthi militiamen. The conflict is seen as a proxy war between Riyadh and regional rival Tehran.