Yemen’s SABA news agency on Wednesday published what it said were photos of a US-made Saudi F-15SA fighter jet that was shot down by Ansar Allah over the Yemeni province of Marib.
So far, the shootdown has yet to be confirmed by US or Saudi sources, but the photos show what appears to be the vertical tail fin of an F-15 marked with a Saudi flag. Ansar Allah military spokesman Yahya Saree also released what he said was footage of the jet being shot down by Yemeni air defenses.
In a statement on the downing, Saree said that Saudi Arabia had launched 450 airstrikes in Yemen over the past week using both F-15 fighter jets and the European-made Typhoon.
“In the face of this brutal aggression our country and people, The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah’s help and grace, were able to shoot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet while it was conducting hostile operations in support of its military buildup in the skies over Marib Governorate, the fighter jet was downed using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile,” he said.
Saree also claimed that Yemeni forces forced two other F-15s to retreat and strongly denied Saudi claims that Ansar Allah had targeted Mecca, Islam’s holiest site.
“The fabrications and lies propagated by the criminal Saudi regime regarding targeting Mecca cannot deceive anyone, they are the ones who defile it with immorality, debauchery, and the importation of prostitutes, there is no threat whatsoever facilities from Yemen to the holy sites, our operations target their oil places and military bases, and are far removed from the holy [sites],” Saree said
In separate statements, Saree announced more Ansar Allah missile and drone attacks targeting oil and military sites in Saudi Arabia and said the Saudi forces launched 40 more airstrikes over the previous 24-hour period. The airstrikes are backed by the US, which reportedly has up to 200 troops in Saudi Arabia providing intelligence and targeting support.
