The Saudi-led coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen said on Sunday that two people were killed after a reconnaissance helicopter crashed inside Saudi territory.
Coalition spokesperson Brig. Gen. Turki Al-Malki said in a statement that an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter operated by the Saudi National Guard crashed in the Najran region due to a technical malfunction.
Al-Malki said the incident resulted in the deaths of the two officers who made up the helicopter’s aircrew.
Earlier on Sunday, Al-Malki announced that the coalition had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait, as well as a drone intercepted and destroyed over the Riyadh region.
Saudi Civil Defense announced that the threat had ended in the cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait, as well as in the capital, Riyadh.
In July, a truce reached in 2022 between the Houthis and the Yemeni government collapsed after the Houthis accused Riyadh of striking Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing there. The group subsequently announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in response to what it described as a blockade of areas under its control, and resumed attacks on Saudi vessels and oil facilities.
The war in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthis launched a large-scale offensive against government forces and seized control of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015.
