Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Wednesday released video they said showed the wreckage of was a Saudi F-15 fighter jet shot down over Yemen, as their lightning advance adds further pressure on global energy supplies.
According to a Houthi statement, the sophisticated US-built jet “was downed using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile” as it “conducted hostile operations” over Marib Governorate in west-central Yemen.
Video released by the group shows an electronic image of a missile hitting what appears to be a fighter jet followed by Houthi fighters inspecting wreckage in a desert landscape. At one point, the men raise what appears to be a tailfin of an aircraft, which bears a Saudi flag insignia and the identification number 5539.
CNN geolocated the crash site to Marib, Yemen. The location was first identified by the BBC. The Houthis made no mention of anyone on board the aircraft, leaving the fate of the fighter jet’s two aircrew unclear.
Saudi authorities and the leadership of the Arab Coalition have not issued any official statements independently confirming or refuting the shoot down. CNN has approached Saudi and US authorities for comment.
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CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a retired US Air Force colonel, said the markings on the tail of the wreckage in the video were “consistent” with Saudi Arabian F-15SA aircraft.
The alleged downing coincides with a wider regional escalation of the war between Iran and the United States, including rapid recent developments in Yemen, which has been torn apart for years by civil war.
The Houthis have recently stepped up their fighting against Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and have expanded their area of control. Last week, they captured a Red Sea port city in Yemen and an island near an important waterway that has, for months, acted as a backup to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing for the export of Saudi oil and refined products.
They have also ramped up deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, which Riyadh has responded to with retaliatory strikes.
Saudi Arabia has linked its recent operations to an alleged Houthi drone attack targeting the holy city of Mecca. In a statement this week, the Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a Houthi attempt to target the sacred site of Islam and said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed the drone before it entered restricted airspace.
The alleged downing coincides with a wider regional escalation of the war between Iran and the United States, including rapid recent developments in Yemen, which has been torn apart for years by civil war.
The Houthis have recently stepped up their fighting against Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and have expanded their area of control. Last week, they captured a Red Sea port city in Yemen and an island near an important waterway that has, for months, acted as a backup to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing for the export of Saudi oil and refined products.
They have also ramped up deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, which Riyadh has responded to with retaliatory strikes.
Saudi Arabia has linked its recent operations to an alleged Houthi drone attack targeting the holy city of Mecca. In a statement this week, the Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a Houthi attempt to target the sacred site of Islam and said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed the drone before it entered restricted airspace.
“The kingdom reiterates its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims and visitors they receive, as well as the kingdom’s entire territory, citizens, and residents,” the statement added.
The Houthis, who follow the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam and also revere Mecca as a sacred city, strongly denied the Saudi claim, saying its targets were Saudi oil facilities and military bases “far removed from the holy places.”
Separately, Saudi Civil Defense on Thursday said that debris from an intercepted drone fell in Saudi Arabia’s Taif governorate, killing a Yemeni resident living in the kingdom, injuring a Saudi woman and a Pakistani national, and causing damage to a number of buildings and vehicles. In a statement, the agency said the drone had been launched by what it described as the “Houthi terrorist militia” and was intercepted and destroyed before debris fell in the area.
In a later statement, the Houthi-controlled armed forces said Saudi warplanes had carried out 37 airstrikes across Yemen’s Taiz and Hajjah provinces over the previous 24 hours resulting in civilian casualties, including people killed and wounded.
CNN could not independently verify the claims, including the number of airstrikes, the locations targeted or the reported civilian casualties.
There are fears mounting that Saudi Arabia could be drawn into a wider conflict as the US-Iran war drags on.
If confirmed, the loss of the Saudi jet would mark only the second time one of the US-built aircraft has been shot down by hostile fire.
A US Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle was previously shot down by Iranian forces earlier in the war.
That shootdown led to a US rescue operation that eventually recovered the crew, but at the loss of several US aircraft that had to be destroyed at a desert landing site where they became stuck.
Three US F-15s were also shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire in the early stages of the Iran war.
The Saudi F-15SA is one of the newest versions of the twin-engine jet that has been in the US Air Force inventory since 1976. The Saudi model is based upon the F-15E Strike Eagle, a mainstay of US air power since it made its combat debut during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Saudi Arabia received their last order of the Boeing jets in December 2020, according to a US Air Force press release.
Credit: Yahoo News