A Saudi Tornado warplane fighting in
Yemen has crashed in the northern province of al-Jawf.
According to Saudi Arabia’s state
news agency SPA, a Saudi-led coalition spokesman confirmed that the fighter jet
had “fallen” while carrying out a support mission near Yemeni army
units.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they
shot down the plane.
The coalition has been battling the
rebel Houthi movement since 2015.
It intervened after the Houthis ousted
the internationally-recognized government from power in the capital Sanaa.
The Houthi rebels said they used
ground-to-air missiles to down the warplane on February 14. They also accused
the coalition of killing 30 people in retaliatory airstrikes in al-Jawf on the
next day.
Saudi Arabia has not provided
details of any casualties from the crash, or what caused it.
Yemen has been at war since 2015,
when President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and his cabinet were forced to flee the
capital Sanaa by the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia backs President Hadi,
and has led a coalition of regional countries in air strikes against the
rebels.
The coalition carries out air strikes
almost every day, while the Houthis often fire missiles into Saudi Arabia.
Yemen civil war has triggered the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with an estimated 80% of the population – more than 24 million people – requiring humanitarian assistance or protection. Tens of thousands of people have died n Yemen as a result of the conflict.
Saudi Arabia has intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen, after a loud explosion was heard near Riyadh airport on November 4.
According to officials, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency, the missile was destroyed over the capital and fragments landed in the airport area.
A TV channel linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen said the missile was fired at the King Khalid International Airport.
The Saudi civil aviation authority said that air traffic was not disrupted.
Saudi forces have reported shooting down Houthi missiles in the past, though none has come so close to a major population centre.
Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, said: “The missile was launched indiscriminately to target the civilian and populated areas.
“Shattered fragments from the intercepted missile landed in an uninhabited area of the airport and there were no injuries.”
Witnesses reported seeing parts of the missile in the airport’s car park, Al-Arabiya reported.
Residents in the north of Riyadh said their windows were rattled by a loud blast that was followed by the roar of low-flying aircraft.
The Houthi-run Saba News in Yemen said the missile had been a Burkan H2.
The rebel group is believed to have access to a stockpile of Scud ballistic missiles and home-grown variants. Saudi forces have previously brought them down with Patriot surface-to-air missiles bought from the US.
In May, a day before President Donald Trump was due to arrive in Riyadh for a visit, the Houthis fired a missile towards the city, but it was shot down 120 miles from the capital.
Yemen has been devastated by a war between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement.
Saudi Arabia is leading a campaign to defeat the Houthis, and is the biggest power in an international air coalition that has bombed the rebel group since 2015.
On November 1, a suspected strike by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least 26 people at a hotel and market in northern Yemen, medics and local officials said.
The coalition, which rights groups say has bombed schools, hospitals, markets and residential areas, said it struck a “legitimate military target”.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
