Houthis claim they shot Saudi F-15 down in Yemen, wreckage verified west of Marib; fighting widens as rebels advance

New Delhi: A Saudi F-15 fighter jet has crashed in Yemen’s Marib region after the Houthis claimed they shot down the aircraft using a surface-to-air missile. The wreckage was later independently verified at a site about 40 kilometers west of Marib, though the cause of the crash remains unconfirmed.

Saudi Arabia has not publicly acknowledged the loss of the fighter or disclosed the circumstances surrounding the crash. The status of the aircraft’s crew also remains unknown, with no independently verified information on whether they ejected, were rescued, killed or captured.

BBC Verify subsequently authenticated and geolocated footage of the wreckage by matching visible ridgelines, cliff faces and other geographical features with satellite imagery. The debris included an almost intact tail section bearing Saudi markings, while imagery of the site showed fresh burn damage consistent with an aircraft crash.

A weapons expert from Janes consulted by the BBC identified the wreckage as belonging to an F-15 Strike Eagle, based on visible features including the aircraft’s tail arrangement, radar antenna and missile warning sensors. A four-digit number visible on the debris was also assessed as consistent with a Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said on Wednesday that the group had shot down the aircraft over Marib using what he described as a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile while it was conducting military operations in the area.

The Houthis also released thermal footage appearing to show an aircraft being struck in flight. BBC verify said the footage could not be fully authenticated because it lacked sufficient visual detail, leaving it unable to establish that the sequence showed the same aircraft whose wreckage was subsequently filmed.

The Houthi-run Yemen news agency, Saba, separately quoted Saree as saying Saudi F-15s had carried out 40 strikes over Taiz, Marib and Hajjah during the preceding 24 hours after taking off from Khamis Mushait. The number of strikes has not been independently verified.

Experts cited by BBC Verify said the incident highlighted the threat posed by the Houthis’ developing air defence capabilities. Baraa Shiban of the Royal United Services Institute said the group had continued to develop its arsenal, while Yemen analyst Adam Baron said the loss of an F-15 would carry considerable propaganda value because Saudi air support remains important to operations against recent Houthi advances.

The assessments do not establish how the aircraft was lost and there has been no independent confirmation that a Houthi missile brought it down.

Fighting widens across Yemen

The incident comes amid renewed fighting between Houthi forces, Saudi backed Yemeni troops and Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia and the Houthis had exchanged fresh strikes across their border, while the International Organization for Migration said more than 100,000 Yemenis had been displaced by the latest fighting. 

Saudi civil defence also said debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed a Yemeni national and injured a Saudi woman and a Pakistani resident in Taif. The incident was part of a wider increase in missile and drone activity accompanying the latest escalation.

The Houthis have meanwhile expanded their presence along parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, bringing renewed attention to the security of routes around the Bab-al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s important maritime chokepoints.

Marib remains a key centre of Yemen’s oil and gas industry and one of the principal areas held by forces opposed to the Houthis. Fighting in and around the governorate has intensified alongside broader Houthi advances, making control of the area important to both sides.