Saudis say warplane downed in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen — The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Saturday one of its warplanes was shot down over a mountainous northern province while providing air support to government forces fighting the country’s rebels.

The rebels, known as Houthis, said they shot down the plane with an advanced ground-to-air missile. They said the Saudi-led coalition launched retaliatory airstrikes that killed more than 30 people, including women and children.

The Houthi claims could not be immediately independently verified.

Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency quoted Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition, as saying the Tornado warplane belonging to Saudi Arabia’s air force was shot down over the province of Jawf late Friday.

He did not say whether there were causalities or provide further details on the fate of the aircraft’s crew.

Al-Maliki said the coalition launched a “combat search and rescue operation” at the site of the crash site in Jawf and that it was investigating “possible collateral damage.” He did not elaborate.

The rebels released graphic images showing destroyed buildings and vehicles and dead bodies, claiming they were of the victims. They also released footage allegedly showing the downing of the Saudi aircraft and its wreckage.

The Yemen conflict began with the 2014 takeover of the capital Sanaa by the Houthis, who control much of the country’s north along the border with Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led military coalition allied with Yemen’s internationally recognized government has been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthis since 2015.

The war has killed more than 100,000 people.