Yemeni Official Says Saudi Arabia Is Seeking Information on Downed F-15 Pilots
The claim, reported by Iran’s IRNA via Al-Masirah, has not been independently confirmed or attributed to a Saudi statement.
A Yemeni official claimed that Saudi Arabia is seeking information through an intermediary about pilots from an F-15 reportedly downed over Marib. The aircraft loss, the pilots’ status and the alleged Saudi inquiry remain unverified in the supplied evidence.
Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of Yemen’s prisoner-affairs committee in the Sana’a government, said Saudi Arabia was using a third party to seek information about the fate of pilots from a Saudi F-15 fighter reportedly downed over Marib province. He cited the absence of direct communication between Yemen and Saudi Arabia as the reason for the intermediary’s involvement.
The report follows a statement by Yemen’s armed forces that it had brought down a Saudi F-15 during what it described as a hostile operation over Marib, using a domestically produced surface-to-air missile. Yemeni forces also claimed that F-15 and Typhoon aircraft searching for the wreckage were intercepted and forced to withdraw.
The available evidence establishes only that these claims were made by Yemeni officials and reported by IRNA, citing Al-Masirah. It does not independently verify that the aircraft was downed, that its pilots are missing or being sought, or that Saudi Arabia contacted a third party. No Saudi response is included in the supplied material. If accurate, the reported intermediary contact could indicate concern about the pilots’ status, but its nature and implications remain unclear.