Mattis: US still backs Saudi coalition amid Yemeni deaths

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending U.S. support for the Arab-led coalition fighting in Yemen, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that U.S. efforts to minimize civilian casualties are paying off, even as a new U.N. report said the governments of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may have committed war crimes.

"For the last several years we have been working with the Saudis and the Emiratis, doing what we can to reduce any chance of innocent people being injured or killed," Mattis told a Pentagon news conference.

Mattis said the U.S. supports Saudi Arabia's right to defend its territory against rocket attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen. He said the Saudi military staffs have made good use of U.S.