Houthis claimed Sunday to have downed a US spy plane in the central Marib province.

“[Houthi] air defenses shot down an American ScanEagle spy plane while it was carrying out hostile actions in the airspace of the Al-Mashjah area west of Marib," Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said on Twitter, without elaborating on the hostile actions.

He added, "The plane was targeted with a surface-to-air missile,” he said, adding that footage of the plane wreckage will be broadcast later.

There was no comment from US or Yemeni government on the Houthi claim.

Yemen has been ravaged by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital city of Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with 30 million people accounting for 80% of the population needing humanitarian assistance and protection.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has claimed more than 233,000 lives.

-Agencies

-File photo