Saudi Arabia has confirmed two military pilots are dead after their reconnaissance helicopter crashed near the border with war-ravaged Yemen - the first such reported Saudi military deaths since the renew of war with the Houthis last month.
Saudi official statements are calling it a crash, describing it as a malfunction or accident, while the Houthis are saying they shot down the aircraft.
"The AH-6i helicopter’s crash near the city of Najran was due to a technical fault and killed two of the crew members, the Saudi-led coalition leading a campaign against the Houthis said," according to Bloomberg. "That disputes the Iranian-backed group’s earlier claim that it had downed a similar aircraft."
Najran has been under frequent attack by the Houthis, including when the helicopter went down on Saturday. It happened amid the typical missile and drone barrage on the kingdom from neighboring Yemen.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari had on Saturday soon on the heels of the incident announced the group had shot down a Saudi attack helicopter near Najran.
He said the helicopter wasn't just for reconnaissance, but was actively targeting Houthis positions along the border.
There is a fierce PR dispute among the warring sides:
On Sunday, October 18, al-Maliki responded to Sari’s post. He posted a photo of several Apache helicopters lined up in a row and wrote: “You claim to have shot it down, but it will soon reappear on the battlefield.” Thus, the Saudi-led coalition has denied the Houthis’ claim that an Apache helicopter was destroyed. At the same time, the report of the AH-6i crash and the deaths of two crew members remains a separate, officially confirmed fact. The details of the incident and the possible connection between these reports require further confirmation. Reuters reported this, citing a statement by Saudi Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki.
The Houthi side has produced what it says is video proof of the AH-6i helicopter being targeted:
Whichever ends up being the case, this could be the first of more military disasters for the superior-armed Saudis to come. The Houthis don't have air power or an air force, but likely have shoulder-fired and ground-to-surface systems capable of taking out low-flying aircraft.