Coalition strikes kill 'dozens' after warplane downed in Yemen
Houthi rebels say Saudi-led coalition killed 30 people in intense bombing in Al Jawf province where they shot down tornado fighter jet of Saudi air force. Coalition, however, says its jet crashed, without giving more details.
Yemen's Houthi movement accused the Saudi-led coalition of carrying out retaliatory air strikes on Saturday that killed 30 people including civilians in the latest flare-up of a five-year war.
The health ministry in Houthi-controlled Al Jawf province said women and children were among those killed, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported.
It followed a Houthi claim to have downed a coalition Tornado warplane in the area on Friday.
But the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Colonel Turki al Malki said only that a tornado jet had crashed in Al Jawf, Saudi state news agency reported on Saturday, without more details.
Saudi Arabia's combat warplanes involved in the bombing campaign in Yemen reportedly include dozens of British-made Tornados and Eurofighters.
'Blow to enemy'
The Houthi rebels said they will release footage showing the launch of its "advanced surface-to-air missile" and the moment it downed the jet.
"The downing of a Tornado in the sky above Al Jawf is a major blow to the enemy and an indication of remarkable growth in Yemeni (rebel) air defence capabilities," Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam tweeted.
The insurgents reported multiple coalition air strikes on Saturday in the Houthi-controlled area where the plane went down as local residents gathered near the wreckage, according to the rebels' Al Masirah television.
The bombing raids left "dozens" of people dead or wounded, Al Masirah added, a report that could not be immediately verified by local aid workers.
Deadly conflict
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from power in the capital Sanaa in 2014.
The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and its regional foe Shia Muslim Iran.
In a relentless campaign, Saudi-led air strikes have hit schools, hospitals, and wedding parties and killed thousands of Yemeni civilians.
The Houthis have used drones and missiles to attack Saudi Arabia.
The war has killed over 100,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages.