The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis on Sunday (October 18, 2026) said two pilots were killed when their helicopter crashed near the Yemen border, after the Iran-backed group said it shot the aircraft down.
“The accident resulted in the martyrdom of its aircrew, consisting of two officers. The incident comes a week after strikes by the Iran-backed group killed 13 people at Riyadh’s international airport, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. On Saturday (October 17, 2026), the Houthis reported that Saudi strikes killed 12 people in Yemen, including three children. On Sunday (October 18, 2026), Egypt’s parliament will hold an emergency session after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked lawmakers to authorise support to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks.
The coalition blamed a “technical malfunction” for the incident, which inflicted its first military fatalities since the long-running war with the Houthis reignited in July.
