Yemeni Forces Shoot Down Saudi F-16 Fighter Jet
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The forces of the Yemeni army and Popular Committees managed to shoot down a Saudi fighter jet in the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula country’s capital, Sana’a.
The air defense unit of the Yemeni army, in a statement, announced that its forces have targeted and hit an F-16 fighter jet belonging to the Saudi-led coalition that had been flying over Sana’a, the Arabic language al-Ahed news website reported.
The Yemeni army’s unit had shot down the fighter jet with a surface-to-air missile on Thursday, according to the statement.
The launch of the missile and hitting the target took only 13 seconds, the statement said, adding that it indicates a huge progress in missiles used by the Yemeni armed forces.
Since March 25, 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to Yemen’s Legal Center of Rights and Development, the Saudi campaign has claimed the lives of over 12,000 Yemenis and left more than 20,000 others wounded.