Two officers were killed when a Saudi National Guard reconnaissance helicopter crashed in Najran on Sunday, October 18, as the Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near the border.
Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said in a statement posted on X that the AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed inside Saudi territory due to a technical malfunction.
“We pray to Allah to bestow His vast mercy upon them, accept them among the righteous martyrs, and grant their families and loved ones patience and solace. To Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return,” the statement said.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed in a post on X on Saturday, October 17, that the group’s forces had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran.
Saree alleged that the aircraft was carrying out hostile actions against Houthi positions along the border when it was brought down using what he described as an appropriate weapon.
Responding to the claim, Al-Maliki posted a photograph of Apache helicopters lined up on a tarmac on X.
“She will enter the field soon. Remember what she looks like, so you do not forget,” he wrote.
Houthis claim another reconnaissance aircraft shootdown
In a separate post on X on Sunday, Saree claimed that Houthi forces had shot down an armed “Karar” reconnaissance aircraft belonging to Saudi Arabia while it was conducting what he described as hostile operations in the airspace of Yemen’s Hodeidah Governorate.
Saree said the aircraft was brought down using appropriate weaponry. He claimed it was the fourth aircraft of this type to have been shot down since the start of the latest escalation and the seventh since it entered Yemeni airspace.
Coalition reports interception of missiles and drones
In separate posts on X on Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting and destroying two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards Khamis Mushait.
The coalition also reported intercepting and destroying drones in the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province.
This comes amid a recent escalation in attacks and heightened security concerns in Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi-led coalition reporting the interception of missiles and drones targeting different parts of the Kingdom.
