Yemen conflict: Al-Qaeda ‘used surface-to-air missile’ to bring down Emirati fighter jet
Exclusive: Terror group’s acquisition of sophisticated
weaponry raises the stakes in the country’s bitter civil war, and causes
consternation in Washington
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Al-Qaeda has acquired sophisticated surface-to-air missiles, The Independent has learned, which were used to shoot down an Emirati fighter jet in a dangerous escalation of the civil war raging in Yemen.
A French-made Mirage jet, flying in the air force of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), crashed into a mountain side just outside the southern port city of Aden on 14 March. Authorities claimed that the crash was “the result of a technical malfunction”, but sources dispute this, claiming that the jet was shot down with Russian munitions. The incident raises the spectre of other jihadist branches accessing sophisticated surface-to-air missiles in Syria, Iraq and further afield.
The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition that has carried out a year-long war against Shia Houthi rebels, primarily from the air. Also involved in the war is al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). With the bombing war dragging on, AQAP has worked assiduously and quietly to consolidate its hold in south Yemen.
Two pilots flying the jet were killed in the crash and locals reported seeing Apache helicopters and the jet engaged in an attack on AQAP forces dug into a district to the west of Aden. Security sources have estimated that some 300 jihadist fighters were under attack at the time the jet came down.
A source in Yemen told The Independent that the surface-to-air missile was a Russian-manufactured SA-7 or “Strela”. The SA-7 is a shoulder held heat-seeking missile. It has a “kill zone” range of between 15 and 1,500 metres in altitude, suggesting that the Mirage was flying low in a strafing run on the AQAP positions when it was hit.
The SA-7 has been around for several decades. The most likely source is Bulgaria which, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, sold Russian military hardware, including the SA-7, to countries alll over the Middle East.
The incident was the fourth time a coalition jet had crashed in the
Yemen campaign, but the first in which a surface-to-air missile was
used.
In late December an American-made F-16, part of Bahrain’s air force, came down in Saudi Arabia. The pilot ejected and survived in what appeared to be a crash related to a technical problem.
In May of last year, a Moroccan pilot died when his F-16 crashed in the north Yemen governorate of Saada. The Houthis claimed at the time that the jet was flying low and was hit by anti-aircraft guns positioned in the mountains. Coalition authorities said technical problems caused the crash.
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A French-made Mirage jet, flying in the air force of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), crashed into a mountain side just outside the southern port city of Aden on 14 March. Authorities claimed that the crash was “the result of a technical malfunction”, but sources dispute this, claiming that the jet was shot down with Russian munitions. The incident raises the spectre of other jihadist branches accessing sophisticated surface-to-air missiles in Syria, Iraq and further afield.
The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition that has carried out a year-long war against Shia Houthi rebels, primarily from the air. Also involved in the war is al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). With the bombing war dragging on, AQAP has worked assiduously and quietly to consolidate its hold in south Yemen.
Two pilots flying the jet were killed in the crash and locals reported seeing Apache helicopters and the jet engaged in an attack on AQAP forces dug into a district to the west of Aden. Security sources have estimated that some 300 jihadist fighters were under attack at the time the jet came down.
A source in Yemen told The Independent that the surface-to-air missile was a Russian-manufactured SA-7 or “Strela”. The SA-7 is a shoulder held heat-seeking missile. It has a “kill zone” range of between 15 and 1,500 metres in altitude, suggesting that the Mirage was flying low in a strafing run on the AQAP positions when it was hit.
The SA-7 has been around for several decades. The most likely source is Bulgaria which, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, sold Russian military hardware, including the SA-7, to countries alll over the Middle East.
Houthis attend a rally in Sanaa to mark a year of Saudi-led air strikes (Reuters)
In late December an American-made F-16, part of Bahrain’s air force, came down in Saudi Arabia. The pilot ejected and survived in what appeared to be a crash related to a technical problem.
In May of last year, a Moroccan pilot died when his F-16 crashed in the north Yemen governorate of Saada. The Houthis claimed at the time that the jet was flying low and was hit by anti-aircraft guns positioned in the mountains. Coalition authorities said technical problems caused the crash.
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