RIYADH – Yemeni Houthi rebels have claimed shooting down a Saudi Apachehelicopter near the border with its northern neighbour, killing two pilotsa day after more than 100 Houthi prisoners were released by Saudi-ledcoalition.
Yahya Sarea, a Houthi spokesman, said on Twitter that “a Saudi Apachehelicopter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile … and its two pilotswere killed as it was completely burned.”
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There was no immediate confirmation from the Saudi-led coalition that hasbeen running a brutal military offensive for five years in the MiddleEast’s poorest country aimed at dislodging the Houthislink from power.
On Thursday about 128 Houthi rebels held in Saudi Arabia were released andflown to the Yemeni capital Sanaa. They had been captured in various partsof Yemen between 2015 and earlier this year.
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This month a senior official in Riyadh said it had an “open channel” withrebels as efforts to end the five-year conflict gained momentum.
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthirebels, who now control much of the impoverished country’s north.
