Yemen: Houthis claim downing Tornado fighter jet

By Shukri Hussein

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - The Houthi rebel group claimed Saturday it downed a Tornado fighter jet belonging to the Arab coalition.

Speaking on Houthis-run Al-Masirah television, spokesman Yahya Saree said the jet was downed in Al-Jawf governorate in northern Yemen by a ground-to-air missile launched by air defense systems.

No statement has yet been made from coalition forces, regarding the claim.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis, including numerous civilians, believed to have been killed in the conflict since then, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara