Rabia Iclal Turan
10 September 2026•Update: 10 September 2026
The US has provided intelligence and targeting support for Saudi Arabia's military campaign against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, CNN reported Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the effort.
More than 100 US military advisers are on the ground in Saudi Arabia, while one US official put the total number of troops involved at roughly 200, according to the report.
A US official told CNN the assistance includes a real-time battlefield targeting tool, comparing it to the Maven system used by the Pentagon.
Another source said Washington is also providing “geospatial” targeting support for strikes on Houthi positions.
Sources stressed limits to the cooperation. The US is not participating directly in strikes, nor is it helping refuel Saudi warplanes or providing other operational support it has extended in past rounds of fighting, the sources reportedly said.
A Pentagon official declined to confirm the report, telling CNN "as a matter of practice we do not comment on intelligence-related matters."
Yemen had experienced relative calm across much of the front lines since a UN-brokered truce took effect in April 2022, but fighting has intensified since July in several provinces, including Taiz, Marib, Al-Jawf and Al-Dhale.
The Houthis have controlled the national capital, Sanaa, and several cities since September 2014, while Yemen's internationally recognized government and allied forces control large parts of the country's south, east and west.
