Saudi helicopter crashes near Yemen border as Houthi war rages | Today’s news
Two people died when a Saudi reconnaissance helicopter crashed near the border with war-torn Yemen, the first casualties of their kind reported by the kingdom since the latest flare-up in the battle against Houthi rebels.
The incident came as rockets were intercepted elsewhere in the country and airstrikes rang out overnight in Riyadh, where observers await the reopening of the main airport after it was closed about a week ago following a wave of deadly attacks.
The crash of an AH-6i helicopter near the city of Najran was caused by a technical fault, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis has said. This cast doubt on earlier claims by the Iran-backed group that it had shot down a similar plane.
The rapid-fire developments suggest there is no immediate end in sight to Saudi Arabia’s latest confrontation with the Yemen-based Houthis, which has taken a heavy toll on the kingdom.
More than a dozen people have died in recent attacks in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom postponed a series of global events this month that were supposed to boost the economy. The militants, who have been at war with Saudi Arabia for decades, stepped up their attacks in October after Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launched an offensive to retake Houthi-held areas.
About a week after Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s airport left more than a dozen dead, the Saudi capital extended distance learning for schools for another seven days, and the city’s financial district has yet to say it is safe to return to work.
The Future Investment Initiative, the flagship of Saudi Arabia’s financial gatherings to be held later this month, is looking at contingency measures including virtual attendance, Bloomberg reported.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted several waves of drones over Riyadh this weekend and destroyed ballistic and cruise missiles in other areas, including attempts to hit the Red Sea port city of Yanbu and the border region of Khamis Mushait.
The drama brought pledges of support from some of Saudi Arabia’s allies. Egypt’s parliament is due to meet in an emergency session on Sunday, a day after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged the assembly to approve measures to support the kingdom’s defense if Saudi Arabia asks for it.
The goal of any authorization would not be “to fight someone or attack someone,” El-Sisi said during a military graduation ceremony. “We’re just talking about defense.
The Houthis struck the airport in Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, on Friday evening, the state-run Saba news agency reported. A few days ago, they attacked the presidential palace in the city and killed several security personnel.
The Houthis have attacked Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport 20 times since early October, killing about 17 and injuring more than 300. Abha, Jazan, Najran and Dammam airports also came under fire, while the headquarters of oil giant Saudi Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran was hit.
The war has compounded energy shortages stemming from the nearly eight-month war in Iran, when the Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait – a key corridor for oil exports. Brent crude touched $110 a barrel for the first time since May on Friday as prospects for a return to normal flows dimmed.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
