Yemen

Officials with U.S. Central Command say they're looking into reports that an MQ-9 Reaper has been shot down in Yemen.

Reports that the Jan. 29 special operations raid in Yemen was a result of hasty planning are "absolutely incorrect."

The U.S. will seek reimbursement for $331 million from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Mattis argued that acting to punish Saudi Arabia now could derail the latest effort to convene peace talks on Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition striking Houthi rebels in Yemen is losing roughly one to two tankers worth of U.S. fuel per day.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saudi help was vital to his efforts to jump-start peace talks on Yemen.

Saudi-led military operations are "increasingly confining populations and cutting off exit routes."

"We've got to replace combat with compromise," the defense secretary said.

As of Aug. 31, Air Force tankers had conducted 2,919 sorties and offloaded 92.3 million pounds of fuel to coalition fighters.

Gen. Joseph Votel said working with Saudi Arabia has proven successful even as the civil war in Yemen has continued on.