A US energy department electrical engineer has been arrested for allegedly supporting Yemen’s Houthi rebels by purchasing materials for homemade explosives and drones and travelling to Yemen, Anadolu reports citing US local media.

“Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested [on] Thursday and is due to make his first court appearance Friday,” CBS News reports, citing the US Justice Department.

Ellaboudy sought to help the Houthis enhance their communications capabilities and travelled to Yemen last September, CBS News, citing a claim by the FBI.

“Ellaboudy used a passport issued to him when he was working at the US Army Corps of Engineers to make his way to Oman, then bordering Yemen,” CBS News quotes the Justice Department as saying.