Saudi Apache Helicopter Shot Down Over Yemen, Pilots Killed

A Saudi Arabia’s Apache military helicopter crashed in the Jizan region on the border with Yemen while conducting airstrike against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Whille a Saudi Arabian report said the chopper crashed, a Yemini report said it had been shot down. The two pilots have been identified as Ali Bin Mohammed al-Qarni and Nasser bin Mohammed al-Harthy, 

The Apache helicopter went down late on Friday, various media reported today.

The helicopter was shot down by Houthis using a surface-to-air missile, A Houthi military representative said. Houthi forces also shelled Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Asir Region, he added.

Yemen has been overwhelmed in a military conflict between Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition, and forces loyal Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia.

A coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, has been launching airstrikes in Yemen at the request of Hadi since March in an attempt to push Houthis out of areas they have come to control.

The Apache originally started as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra.