US officials meet secretly with Yemen's Huthis

Top-level US envoys met secretly last week for the first time with Yemen’s Huthi group and pressed for a cease-fire in their country and the release of Americans detained by the group, U.S. and Arab officials were quoted by Wall Street Journal as saying.

The meeting, held in the Sultanate of Oman, helped facilitate the release of an American freelance journalist, Casey Coombs, who was detained by the Houthis two weeks ago, the officials said.

Three other U.S. nationals continue to be held by the Huth militia—which took over Yemen’s government in February—although U.S. officials didn’t refer to them as hostages.