The Houthis announced the defeat of a Saudi fighter jet over Yemen. Coalition reported interception of UAV

On the night of Thursday, October 15, fighting continued between the Yemeni Houthis and the Saudi-led military coalition. The Saudis reported intercepting a drone in the east of the kingdom, and the Houthis said they had shot down a Saudi fighter jet over northern Yemen.

Coalition spokesman General Turki al-Maliki said air defenses intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Information about its intended purpose and possible consequences of the attack is not provided.

At the same time, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said that the air defense forces of the Ansar Allah movement used a surface-to-air missile against a Saudi Eurofighter Typhoon fighter that took off from the Taif airbase. According to the Houthis, the plane received a direct hit in the airspace of Saada province in northern Yemen. Saria said that after the missile hit, the plane was in danger of falling. However, the Houthis did not report a confirmed crash of the fighter. Saudi authorities have not yet commented on this statement. There is no independent confirmation of damage to the aircraft.

There were also reports overnight of more Saudi air strikes on Sanaa, Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital. Information about the targets of attacks, destruction and casualties is being clarified.

The new escalation comes amid a series of Houthi attacks on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. On October 13, the headquarters of the state oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran was attacked. The impact caused a fire and damaged the building, but no injuries were reported, Reuters reported. The Saudi coalition, in turn, continues air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.