DUBAI (Sputnik) — A representative of the united military forces of Houthis, along with supporters of Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, told the Lebanese Al-Manar television channel that the helicopter was downed by a surface-to-air missile.
He added that Houthi forces, using Grad rocket launchers, shelled Saudi border security in the southwest Asir region of Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis, Yemen’s main opposition faction, supported by army units loyal to Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have been fighting government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition since 2014.
Since March, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition has bombed Houthis at the request of Yemen's president-in-exile Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
The conflict has claimed the lives of at least 1,900 civilians and has injured more than 4,000, according to the UN, while leaving 80 percent of Yemen population in need of humanitarian assistance.
