Story highlights Yemen is currently beset by a civil war

On Sunday the Houthi-controlled Defense Ministry announced that it had downed an American made drone

(CNN) A US military MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was shot down in western Yemen Sunday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway told CNN Monday.

"This incident is under investigation," he added.

Yemen is currently beset by a civil war between the Houthi rebels, who control vast swaths of the country's north, including the capital, and the internationally recognized government which is backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday the Houthi-controlled Defense Ministry announced that it had downed an American made surveillance drone in the outskirts of Yemen's capital Sanaa.

The US military is conducting two primary missions in Yemen, non-combat support to the Saudi-led coalition and a counterterrorism mission that targets al Qaeda in Yemen.

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