“The air defence of the tribes shot down a warplane over Wadi Nushur, in Saada,” Houthi news channel Al Maseera said. The channel broadcasted pictures showing local tribesmen celebrating a victory near the F-16 wreckage.
The Iran-backed Shia group claimed the Moroccan jet was downed by a surface-to-air missile in Wadi Nashour area in the northwestern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold near the border with Saudi Arabia, while conducting airstrikes Sunday.
“One of the F-16s of the Royal Armed Force put at the disposal of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia to restore legitimacy in Yemen went missing on Sunday at 6pm local time,” the statement said.
The investigation to determine the plane’s approximate location is under way, a Saudi official told AFP.
“It is definitely inside Yemen and it is a single pilot on board,” the Saudi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The disappearance of the F-16 could jeopardize a five-day humanitarian truce proposed by Saudi Arabia starting Tuesday. While the Houthis accepted the ceasefire, Colonel Sharaf Luqman said any violation of the ceasefire would prompt a military response.
The Saudi-led operation against Houthi militia forces has entered its seventh week. Nearly 1,250 people have been killed, and at least 5,044 people injured between March 19 and April 27, the World Health Organization said Friday. Local estimates on the ground are much higher.
Houthi rebels took control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, in a move that forced Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.
Moroccan Royal Armed Forces, representing one of eight Arab states to have joined Saudi Arabia’s coalition, said that their F-16 fighter jet that took part in the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen had gone missing.The Royal Armed Force, however, would not confirm the video aired by Al Maseera.
Jim W. Dean was an active editor on VT from 2010-2022. He was involved in operations, development, and writing, plus an active schedule of TV and radio interviews.
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