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The three were
flown out of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, which is controlled by the
Iran-backed Houthi militia, on an Omani air force flight late on
Wednesday, ONA said. The brief statement gave no details on the
identities of the Americans, but a Yemeni security official said
the men had been detained.
"The three Americans were detained by the security forces run by
the Houthis and were held on suspicion of spying," the official
said by telephone from Sanaa.
Yemen has been split by fighting between the Shi'ite Houthis and
supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A Saudi-led
coalition joined the fighting on the side of Saleh's supporters
in March with air strikes and ground troops. The conflict has
since killed thousands, many of them civilians.
The U.S. State Department said earlier this month a U.S. citizen
who worked for the United Nations had died after being held in
Sanaa by the Houthis. He and another U.S. citizen were detained
as they arrived from Djibouti, the U.N. said.
In September, three other U.S. citizen held hostage by the
Houthis were released.
(Reporting by Fatma Al Araimi; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing
by Larry King)
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