SANAA, March 28 (Reuters) - Yemeni forces shot down a foreign drone flying over the south of the Arab country, government officials said on Wednesday, and local media reported that the aircraft was Iranian.

"Yes, a drone was brought down," a government official told Reuters. He said the drone was downed on Tuesday but declined to give more details about the incident.

The Akhbar al-Yawm daily, which has close links to the government, reported that the unmanned plane was Iranian.

"Security sources confirmed that the drone that was brought down in Hadramout belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran," the newspaper said on its front page.

Yemen accused Iran earlier this month of backing Shi'ite Muslim rebels who have been battling government forces for more than two months. Rebel leader Yahya al-Houthi denied the charges.

Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Houthi's supporters are not linked to al Qaeda.

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