Yemeni army downs Saudi reconnaissance helicopter; two pilots dead

Yemeni Armed Forces have shot down a Saudi reconnaissance helicopter near the kingdom’s southwestern border region of Najran, killing its two-man crew.

Yemeni Armed Forces have intercepted and shot down a reconnaissance helicopter near the kingdom’s southwestern border region of Najran, as it was carrying out “hostile operations” in support of Saudi-backed forces.

The media bureau of Yemen’s Operations Command Center broadcast on Sunday the video footage of the interception, stating that the Boeing AH-6i helicopter was struck by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile.

Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Sana’a-based Yemeni government said two pilots were killed when their reconnaissance helicopter crashed near the border with Yemen.

Major General Turki al-Maliki, the official spokesman for the coalition, asserted that the aircraft went down inside Saudi territory due to a technical malfunction.

Maliki added that the crash resulted in the deaths of the helicopter’s two pilots.

The incident comes as Saudi Arabia remains on heightened alert amid a renewed wave of retaliatory drone and missile strikes by the Yemeni Armed Forces.

The Yemeni army said on Saturday that its forces had shot down a Saudi Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter near the border region of Najran, as Saudi warplanes carried out 53 airstrikes in Yemen over the past 24 hours.

The spokesperson for the military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement on social media platform X that the Apache was shot down with an “appropriate weapon” while conducting “hostilities” along the border.

In an earlier statement, Saree said Saudi strikes targeted the Yemeni capital Sana’a and the provinces of Ta’izz, Ibb, Lahij, Sa’ada and ‘Amran, with F-15 and Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets taking off from Saudi air bases in Khamis Mushait and Taif regions.

He stressed that the strikes hit civilian sites and caused casualties, including women and children.

Saree also noted that 2,542 Saudi air and missile strikes had been carried out since the latest escalation began on September 3.

The Sana’a administration announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, in retaliation for “an unjust and oppressive siege” on Yemen that has continued for almost 12 years.

The Yemeni military has also reported multiple successful operations targeting ships associated with Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies enacted a blockade on Yemen and initiated a large-scale war, with support from the United States and various Western nations in terms of military, political, and logistical resources.

The war has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Yemenis. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia has not succeeded in achieving its goal of restoring a puppet government that aligns with its interests.

1. Click the "share" button in the bottom bar

2. Select the "Add to home screen" option