Yemen conflict: Two US hostages freed Published duration 16 October 2016 Related Topics Yemen crisis

image copyright EPA image caption The US pair were flown to Oman with Yemenis injured in the recent bombing of a funeral that killed 140 people

Two US citizens held by Houthi rebels in Yemen have been released and flown to neighbouring Oman, the US says.

The Americans, who were not identified, left the country together with Yemenis hurt in a recent funeral bombing, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

The US thanked Oman for mediating and acknowledged the "humanitarian gesture" from the rebels.

Yemen has been devastated by a war between government forces and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement.

More than 6,800 people have been killed since March 2015, the majority in air strikes by a Saudi-led multinational coalition that backs the president against the Houthi rebels.

Speaking in Switzerland after multilateral talks on Syria, Mr Kerry welcomed the development.

"This is something we've been working on for the last days," he said.

The two Americans were flown to Oman alongside an unspecified number of people injured in the 8 October attack on a funeral hall in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Meanwhile, a US Navy destroyer in the Red Sea may have been targeted by multiple surface-to-surface missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territory, US officials said.

The USS Mason took countermeasures and was not hit, they added. If confirmed, it would be the third such incident in recent days.