Saudi jet 'downing' in Yemen stirs alarm over Huthi weaponry
Published Date: 2/19/2020
Source: news.yahoo.com
Claims that Yemeni rebels shot down a Saudi warplane have spotlighted the increasingly potent Huthi arsenal -- cause for alarm in Riyadh as fighting escalates amid faltering efforts to end the five-year conflict. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels said they downed the Tornado aircraft on Friday over the volatile northern province of Al-Jawf, in a setback for the Riyadh-led military coalition that has always enjoyed air supremacy in the war. The rebels, once dismissed as a ragtag militia, said they hit the jet with an "advanced surface-to-air missile", a claim that followed recent UN reports that the Huthis had received weapons bearing signs of Iranian origin.