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Yemen conflict: Two UAE pilots killed as jet crashes | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Two Emirati pilots were killed when their fighter jet crashed during a mission against Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition has said. | |
A coalition statement said the plane had suffered a technical failure. | |
The UAE is part of the coalition which has been carrying out air strikes since March 2015 in support of ousted President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. | |
It is the first known loss of an Emirati jet in the conflict in which some 6,000 people have been killed. | |
About half of the deaths have been civilian, the UN says. | |
The plane crashed in a mountainous area near the southern city of Aden, local officials and witnesses said. | |
The UAE Air Force operates both F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets. | The UAE Air Force operates both F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets. |
In December, a Bahraini F-16 crashed in Saudi Arabia due to a "technical error", while in May a Moroccan warplane came down over Yemen. | In December, a Bahraini F-16 crashed in Saudi Arabia due to a "technical error", while in May a Moroccan warplane came down over Yemen. |
Both jets were taking part in the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen, codenamed Operation Restoring Hope. | |
The UN has criticised both the coalition campaign and the Houthis over the scale of civilian casualties. |