Shia rebels in Yemen
have claimed to have shot down a Moroccan F-16 fighter jet taking part
in a Saudi-led coalition targeting them and their allies, a day before a
five-day humanitarian ceasefire was set to begin.
Morocco’s military, however, would only say that the jet had gone missing at about 6pm local time on Sunday.
A Moroccan online news site with close ties to the kingdom’s royal palace and security and intelligence services said the aircraft was one of two that flew out of a base in the United Arab Emirates on a reconnaissance mission over the Yemeni side of the border with Saudi Arabia. The French-language site, Le360, said rebel anti-aircraft batteries stationed on top of mountains opened fire on the two aircraft as they flew overhead at low altitude.
Meanwhile, a Saudi-owned news channel, al-Hadath, aired live footage on Monday of tanks and armoured personnel carriers loaded on to giant trucks, saying they were part of a “strike force” being deployed on the kingdom’s border with Yemen. There have been no signs to suggest that a ground offensive was imminent, although the coalition has not ruled one out. /more
Morocco’s military, however, would only say that the jet had gone missing at about 6pm local time on Sunday.
A Moroccan online news site with close ties to the kingdom’s royal palace and security and intelligence services said the aircraft was one of two that flew out of a base in the United Arab Emirates on a reconnaissance mission over the Yemeni side of the border with Saudi Arabia. The French-language site, Le360, said rebel anti-aircraft batteries stationed on top of mountains opened fire on the two aircraft as they flew overhead at low altitude.
Meanwhile, a Saudi-owned news channel, al-Hadath, aired live footage on Monday of tanks and armoured personnel carriers loaded on to giant trucks, saying they were part of a “strike force” being deployed on the kingdom’s border with Yemen. There have been no signs to suggest that a ground offensive was imminent, although the coalition has not ruled one out. /more
