Saudi-led coalition says two officers killed in helicopter crash in Najran

Two officers were killed when a Saudi National Guard reconnaissance helicopter crashed due to a technical malfunction in the Najran region, the Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the AH-6i helicopter crashed inside Saudi territory.

He expressed condolences to the families of the officers killed.

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted 2 Houthi ballistic missiles headed for southwestern Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-led coalition said on early Sunday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Coalition spokesman Turkial-Maliki announced the interceptions in a statement on US social media platform X.

Shortly before the announcement, Saudi Civil Defense issued "potential danger" alerts in the capital Riyadh and the southwestern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait through its national early warning system.

The agency later announced that the danger had passed.

Read: Pakistan condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, calls for immediate halt at UN

On Saturday, al-Maliki said coalition forces had intercepted and destroyed four drones over several hours in the Riyadh region, Eastern Province and southern Saudi Arabia.

The coalition also released footage it claimed showed strikes destroying two ballistic missile launchers in Saada, northern Yemen, after they had been used to fire missiles toward Saudi Arabia.

Houthis claim to have shot down Saudi Apache helicopter near Yemen border

Yemen's Houthi group claimed on Saturday that it shot down a Saudi Apache military helicopter near the Najran region in southern Saudi Arabia while it was targeting Houthi positions.

In a statement carried by the Houthi-run version of Yemen's Saba news agency, the group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, claimed that Houthi forces shot down the helicopter while it was carrying out "hostile operations" against their positions along the border.

Read more: Iran denies Saudi accusation of involvement in Houthi attacks, offers to mediate

There was no immediate comment from Saudi officials on Saree's remarks.

The claim came amid continued military escalation in Yemen and strikes by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since July, including attacks on civilian aviation facilities and energy infrastructure inside the kingdom.