title: Yemen Houthis say have shot down U.S. surveillance drone - state news agency
text: DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen s Houthi forces shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the capital Sanaa on Sunday, the Houthi-controlled state news agency SABA reported. The Houthi movement and its ally former president Ali Abdullah Saleh control much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa, and are battling a Saudi-led coalition that is trying to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The United States backs the Saudi-led coalition by providing it with intelligence and weapons.   A military source said (Houthi) air defense shot down a U.S. MQ-9 surveillance drone in Jader area in the Sanaa province,  SABA reported. A Reuters photographer said the drone came down at around 11 am local time in a crowded area on the outskirts of the capital, but there were no reports of any casualties. The charred wreckage of the aircraft was carried out by the Houthis aboard a Toyota pickup truck.  The Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen s civil war. It began in March 2015 when the Houthis advanced on Hadi s interim headquarters in the southern port city of Aden, forcing him to flee the country and seek Saudi help. The war has caused a humanitarian disaster in the country, where more than two million people have been displaced while around 750,000 are suspected to have been infected with cholera. 