Saudi warplane crash in Yemen due to 'technical failure'

Saudi warplane crash in Yemen due to 'technical failure'
A Saudi warplane crashed in Yemen due to a technical failure according to the Saudi-led coalition, contradicting Houthi claims that rebels shot down the plane.
1 min read
08 January, 2018
The Saudi-led coalition have been targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen (Anadolu)
A Saudi warplane from the coalition battling rebels in Yemen crashed on Sunday due to a "technical failure", the coalition and state media said, adding that both crew were rescued.

The plane "had a technical failure at 3:40pm (6:40pm) and crashed... in an area of operations" in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, told AFP.

He said the two crew members were rescued unharmed and returned to Saudi Arabia. Maliki gave no further details.

A coalition statement released later by the official Saudi Press Agency said the Tornado fighter jet that crashed was Saudi and that the operation to rescue the crew involved ground forces.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who are locked in a war with Yemen's Saudi-backed government, said they shot down the plane over Saada province, their northern Yemeni stronghold, according to their al-Masirah television channel.

The Saudi-led coalition joined the Yemeni government in its fight against the Houthis in March 2015, after the rebels seized control of the capital Sanaa.

Despite the coalition's superior firepower, the rebels still control the capital and much of north Yemen.

More than 8,750 people have been killed since the coalition intervened in Yemen, according to the World Health Organisation.