SANAA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — A Yemeni fighter jet crashed near Saudi border early Sunday due to a “technical fault” while it was in a fact-finding mission, a couple of kilometers from Saudi sites where battles erupted between Yemeni rebel infiltrators and Saudi troops.

    The air force jet “Sukhoi” was not carrying bombs, so it was flying high as it engaged in long-range reconnaissance operations inside Yemeni territories, a senior officer at Sanaa-based Dailamy Air-Force Base told Xinhua.

    The fighter jet went down in mountains near Razih district, just a couple of kilometers from Saudi border where Saudi military forces are battling small bands of Yemeni Shiite guerrillas, who have infiltrated into its territory, he said.

    The officer asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to media, saying the air force operations were carrying out in coordination with the Saudi military authorities as part of mutual cooperation between the two countries.

    The Shiite guerrillas, however, claimed in a statement that their anti-aircraft batteries had shot down the plane.

    This crash is the third of its kind in Saada near the Saudi border since the beginning of the latest fierce battles that flared up in mid August between government troops and Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, who recently infiltrated into Saudi territory.

Source: news.xinhuanet.com