Houthis claim to have shot down Saudi fighter jet

Middle East, News May 24, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Yemeni rebels claim to have shot down a Saudi F-16 fighter jet during a fresh wave of airstrikes.

The rebels were pictured celebrating with the wreckage of the downed aircraft which crashed in the district of Bani Harith in the northern part of Sana’a.

The fighter jet had reportedly conducted a number of airstrikes against Yemen’s al-Dailami air base before it came down.

The Houthi official said the downed jet was an F-16, and several images published online — including on the Yemen Post’s Twitter and Facebook feeds — showed a purported image of the jet ablaze along with a photo of a piece of metal with the words, “Royal Saudi Air Force.”

Houthi rebels seized two unexploded missiles from the site, and the pilot remains missing, the Yemen Post tweeted. One of the photos that the paper posted appeared to show an intact missile.

The news service later reported, citing the Yemen Defense Ministry, that the plane was an F-15, not an F-16.

Yemeni rebels pose with wreckage from the Saudi aircraft

However, Saudi sources have dismissed claims that Al Houthi militiamen have shot down a Saudi fighter in Yemen and recovered two missiles.

“The claims lack credibility and are not at all true,” the sources said.

“What the Yemenis saw was merely a disposable external fuel tank that the plane released by the plane on its way back to the base. It is a routine action that the pilot did on the way back,” the sources told local news site Sabq on Sunday.

According to Yemeni media, a Saudi F-16 fighter was shot down near the capital Sana’a.

“Saudi F16 jet shot down in Bani Hareth, Sana’a. Pilot missing, Al Houthis seize TWO unused missiles,” a local site posted on its Twitter account

Online media also posted pictures of fuel tank that belongs to the Royal Saudi Air Force and a plane on fire.

However, bloggers said that the tank was an F-15 External Fuel Tank and was not part of an F-16.

Other bloggers said that Saudi Arabia did not have any F-16s and that its fleet of combat aircraft consisted of Panavia Tornados, F-15s and Euro Typhoons.

GN/FA/DM/CNN