ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Two pilots were killed when their helicopter crashed near the Yemen border due to a “technical malfunction,” the Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday. 

"An AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter belonging to the national guard crashed and was destroyed in Saudi territory in the Najran area as a result of a technical malfunction, resulting in the death of its crew of two officers," coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said, as cited by Saudi state media. 

It marks the first military fatalities since hostilities resumed between the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in July. 

The conflict between Riyadh and the Houthis has lain largely dormant since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022. However, the Iran-backed group blamed Saudi Arabia for an airstrike on Sanaa airport in July, setting in motion a chain of events that culminated in a large-scale Houthi offensive that expanded their effective control over war-torn Yemen. 

A counteroffensive is underway by Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, which is seeking to dislodge the Houthis from the coastline along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Iran-backed group has sought to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping through the Red Sea. 

Since hostilities resumed, the Saudi-led coalition has launched repeated air and drone strikes on Houthi territory, while the Iran-backed group has struck Saudi targets in the Red Sea and oil facilities.

The Houthis have also notably targeted Riyadh’s international airport. Last week, a Houthi strike on the airport killed 12 people and injured more than 300, prompting widespread condemnation and expressions of support for Saudi Arabia.