Sanaa: Yemeni rebels said on Monday they shot down a fighter jet as Saudi-led coalition air strikes intensified a day ahead of a hoped-for five-day humanitarian truce.
Morocco announced that one of its warplanes taking part in operations against the rebels was missing along with its pilot, and that a search was underway.
Houthi Rebels have claimed to have shot down a fighter jet of Saudi led coalition
Coalition warplanes hit Iran-backed rebels in their northern Saada stronghold, military camps, and weapons depots around the capital Sanaa and in other provinces, residents said.
Contact was lost with the F-16 at 6 pm (1500 GMT) on Sunday, Morocco’s official MAP news agency reported, citing an armed forces statement.
“A second plane which was flying in formation was not able to see whether the pilot ejected,” it added.
A Saudi official said that the warplane was “certainly on Yemeni territory and had a single pilot on board”,
The Houthi rebel television station Al-Masirah said a coalition aircraft crashed in the Wadi Nushur area in Saada, claiming that “air defence operated by tribesmen” shot it down.
It broadcast still images that it said were of tribesmen celebrating around the wreckage of a plane bearing a Moroccan flag.
The coalition has declared the entire rebel stronghold of Saada province to be a military target after Houthi bombardment of Saudi towns across the border caused several deaths.
Al-Masirah reported “more than 20 raids since the morning” by coalition aircraft across Saada.
“Since the early morning, jets, artillery, and rockets have been pounding Saada” from the Saudi side of the border, one resident told AFP, asking not to be identified.
Ventuno/AFP