Two officers were killed when a Saudi National Guard reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region near the Yemen border, the Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced Sunday. According to al-Maliki, the helicopter fell and was destroyed on Saudi territory due to a technical malfunction.
1+The announcement came after Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed Saturday night that his forces had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran while it was attacking their positions along the border. The coalition spokesman responded to the claim with a photo of several Apache helicopters, writing that the allegedly downed helicopter “will enter the battlefield soon.”
The Houthis later released a video they said documented the strike on the helicopter. In recent hours, Houthi media outlets are reporting that 9 people were killed and 16 wounded in a Saudi strike on a house in the city of Saada in northern Yemen.
1+The incident comes amid an escalation in fighting in Yemen after the ceasefire between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government forces collapsed. In recent days, the rebels have also attacked Riyadh’s international airport and the Saudi oil company Aramco.