Cairo: An Arab alliance fighting Yemen's Al Houthis is holding the Iran-aligned militia responsible for the fate of a crew of a Saudi fighter jet that crashed in the country, a coalition official said early Sunday.
The Tornado jet crashed Friday night while on a mission supporting Yemeni forces fighting the rebels in Yemen's northern province of Al Jawf, Col Turki Al Maliki said.
He added that the jet's two-member crew survived the crash and ejected before its fall.
The Tornado aircraft reportedly came down on Friday in northern Al Jawf province, according to a Saudi Press Agency statement.
"The terrorist Al Houthi militia elements fired shots in the direction of the crew in a violation of rules of international humanitarian law," he added.
"The crew's lives and safety are responsibility of the terrorist Al Houthi militia," the official added, according to the official Saudi news agency.
On Saturday, Al Houthis claimed they had downed an alliance jet.
Yemen’s conflict erupted after Al Houthis toppled the internationally-recognised government and overran parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a, in late 2014.
In March, 2015, the Arab alliance co-led by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, intervened in Yemen in response to a request from its government after Al Houthis advanced on the southern city of Aden, the country’s provisional capital.
