{"id":19654,"date":"2026-09-16T13:39:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=19654"},"modified":"2026-09-16T13:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:39:34","slug":"yemen-army-confirms-downing-of-saud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/09\/16\/yemen-army-confirms-downing-of-saud\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemen Army confirms downing of Saudi F-15 warplane over Ma’rib"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yemen Army confirms downing of Saudi F-15 warplane over Ma’rib <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Yemeni forces reject allegations of targeting Mecca and vow to defend airspace and sovereignty<\/p>\n

Yemen\u2019s Armed Forces have claimed that they shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Ma\u2019rib Province using a domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces<\/a>, said in a statement on Wednesday that the aircraft was conducting what he described as \u201chostile activities\u201d over Ma\u2019rib when it was targeted and brought down.<\/p>\n

According to Saree, the Saudi aircraft was operating in support of forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia. He said Yemeni air defences also confronted Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets over the province, forcing them to withdraw while attempting to locate the wreckage of the downed aircraft.<\/p>\n

Mohammed Abdulsalam, spokesman for Yemen\u2019s Houthi movement and head of its negotiating delegation, described the reported downing of the F-15 as a significant development in Yemen\u2019s air-defence capabilities.<\/p>\n

In comments carried by Al Mayadeen, Abdulsalam said the incident demonstrated what he described as Yemen\u2019s growing ability to defend its airspace and sovereignty. He also accused Saudi Arabia of conducting military operations against Yemen and said the incident exposed what he called contradictions in Riyadh\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe skies of Yemen will not remain open to anyone who violates them,\u201d Abdulsalam said, warning that Saudi aircraft could face further losses.<\/p>\n

He also claimed that two Saudi pilots had been held by authorities in Sana\u2019a for an extended period and criticised the Saudi government for what he described as a failure to secure their release.<\/p>\n

The Yemeni Armed Forces further claimed that Saudi warplanes had carried out more than 450 airstrikes in the provinces of Taiz, Lahij, al-Jawf, Hajjah, Ma\u2019rib, Saada and al-Bayda, resulting in casualties. The claims could not be independently verified.<\/p>\n

Addressing Saudi allegations that Yemen had targeted Mecca, the Yemeni Armed Forces rejected the accusations as \u201cslanders and lies,\u201d saying that its operations were directed at military positions and oil-related facilities rather than Islamic holy sites.<\/p>\n

The Yemeni forces also reiterated their pledge to defend the country\u2019s airspace and sovereignty against what they described as foreign aggression.<\/p>\n

The reported incident comes amid heightened tensions along Yemen\u2019s western coastline, where Yemeni forces and Saudi-backed groups have clashed over strategic areas and coastal positions.<\/p>\n

Yemeni authorities have also recently claimed control of Perim Island, also known as Mayyun Island, a strategically located island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The waterway is a major maritime route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.<\/p>\n

The reported developments have coincided with renewed military activity along Yemen\u2019s western front and Saudi airstrikes against positions and infrastructure controlled by Yemeni forces.<\/p>\n

On July 20, the Sana\u2019a-based authorities announced what they described as a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, citing the prolonged conflict and restrictions imposed on Yemen.<\/p>\n

Since then, Yemeni forces have claimed a series of operations against vessels they say are linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

The conflict escalated significantly in March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a military campaign in Yemen. The intervention received military, political and logistical support from the United States and several Western countries.<\/p>\n

The latest claims come as tensions over Yemen\u2019s airspace, coastline and strategic waterways remain high, with competing accounts from the parties involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yemen Army confirms downing of Saudi F-15 warplane over Ma’rib Yemeni forces reject allegations of targeting Mecca and vow to defend airspace and sovereignty Yemen\u2019s Armed Forces have claimed that they shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Ma\u2019rib Province using a domestically manufactured surface-to-air missile. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2297,2299],"tags":[4017],"class_list":["post-19654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world","tag-yemen-saudi-temsion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19654"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19655,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19654\/revisions\/19655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}