Two officers killed in Saudi helicopter crash in Najran

Two officers were killed when a Saudi National Guard AH6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region on October 18, the Saudi-led coalition said, attributing the crash to a technical malfunction. The aircraft went down inside Saudi territory, according to the coalition’s statement. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki AlMaliki said the helicopter belonged to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of National Guard and that both officers aboard died. Their identities and further circumstances of the crash were not disclosed in the supplied reports. The coalition’s explanation identifies a mechanical cause, but a separate Houthi claim raised questions about whether the reports concern the same aircraft. On October 17, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group’s forces had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran while it was operating against Houthi positions along the border. That claim has not been independently verified, and the available accounts do not establish a connection to the fatal AH6i crash. The reported aircraft types differ: the coalition described a reconnaissance helicopter, while Saree referred to an Apache. The coalition’s statement...