AH-6i helicopter crashes in Saudi Arabia, Yemeni Houthis claim shootdown

Official Riyadh version: technical failure

An accident involving an AH-6i model reconnaissance helicopter occurred on Saudi Arabian territory. According to data released by Saudi coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki, the helicopter crashed due to a technical malfunction. The incident took place in an area under the jurisdiction of the country's National Guard Ministry. Two crew members died as a result of the crash.

Accusations from the Houthis

Yemeni Houthis put forward a different version of events. They published a video recording, claiming that the Saudi AH-6i was shot down by a missile while carrying out a combat mission near the city of Najran. However, the moment of the strike is not clearly visible in the provided footage. Reuters journalists were unable to independently verify the group's claim, and Saudi authorities have not yet commented on these statements.

Context: previous claims of Apache shootdowns

On 17 October, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sari posted on social media platform X that militants had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter, also near Najran. It is currently unknown whether this statement refers to the same incident as the AH-6i crash.

In response to these messages, Major General Turki al-Maliki posted a photograph of several Apache helicopters online and wrote: «Ви стверджуєте, що збили його, але він скоро вийде на поле бою» ("You claim to have shot it down, but it will soon go out to the battlefield").

Escalation in the country's southwest

As noted by Reuters, the southwestern part of the Najran region has been subjected to attacks by Iran-backed Houthis over the past few weeks.