The official spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced on Wednesday that a Saudi fighter jet was shot down using locally manufactured ammunition, while the Saudi-led military coalition claimed to have intercepted a drone allegedly launched by the Houthis that was heading toward Mecca, a claim denied by the Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, which labeled it "fabrications and lies."
Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a statement monitored by the News Video Agency that the Yemeni armed forces - with God's grace and favor - managed to shoot down a Saudi warplane of the type (F-15) while it was conducting hostile actions in support of its military mobilizations in the skies over Marib province, using a locally-made surface-to-air missile.
He also clarified that the Yemeni forces confronted "two Saudi combat formations, the F-15 and Typhoon, in the skies over Marib province, using local missiles, [as] these aircraft were searching for the wreckage of the downed plane and were forced to retreat thanks to God."
Saree accused Saudi Arabia of launching more than 450 air raids this week, using F-15 and Typhoon aircraft that he claims took off from the Khamis Mushait and Taif bases, targeting the provinces of Taiz, Lahij, Al-Jawf, Hajjah, Mareb, Saada, and Al-Bayda, adding that these airstrikes resulted in casualties among civilians.
At the same time, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces denied what he called "the fabrications and lies" propagated by the Saudi ruling regime that the Houthis attempted to target Mecca on Tuesday, the holiest site for Muslims.
He stated in the announcement: "There is no danger from Yemen to the holy sites; our operations target its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the holy places."
Turkey Al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, had stated in a statement published on the X platform: "The Saudi royal defense forces managed to intercept and destroy an enemy drone launched by the Houthi terrorist militia before it entered the restricted airspace of the holy capital Mecca."