Yemen and the Red Sea

Najran: Houthis say they shot down a Saudi attack helicopter on 17 October; the Saudi-led coalition says an AH-6i crashed from a technical malfunction, killing its two crew

This version is a correction.

ATTACK
Location
Saudi–Yemeni border area near Najran (Houthi claim gives only 'off Najran'; estimated)
Actors
Houthis · Saudi Arabia
Importance
Standard

Yahya Saree, the Houthi armed forces spokesman, said on X at 17:50 UTC on 17 October 2026 that Houthi forces shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter 'off Najran' while it was carrying out hostile actions against Houthi positions on the border, using an 'appropriate weapon'. On 18 October Saree announced footage of the downing of a Saudi AH-6i attack helicopter in Najran, and Al Mayadeen English posted Houthi military media video it said showed an AH-6i being hit by a locally made surface-to-air missile off the coast of Najran. Iran's IRNA relayed the claim. Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter had crashed in Najran due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, Al Jazeera reported on 18 October. The coalition thus confirms the loss of the aircraft and crew but not the Houthi shootdown claim; the helicopter type also differs between the initial Houthi claim (Apache) and the footage and coalition statement (AH-6i). ISW later assessed that the helicopter was likely supporting or reconnoitering fighting in nearby al-Jawf; its post does not establish the loss cause or event time.

X · @MayadeenEnglishunverified

Houthi military media footage, posted by Al Mayadeen English, said to show a Saudi AH-6i helicopter being hit off Najran; not independently geolocated.

Credit Houthi military media via Al Mayadeen English

Play contacts video.twimg.com directly.

  • Fatalities: Best 2 · Confidence: Probable · Evidence: Fighting intensifies across Yemen as humanitarian crisis deepens · Two crew members killed, per the Saudi-led coalition, which attributes the crash to a technical malfunction rather than Houthi fire.

Verification: Disputed

Evidence: Footage of the downing of a Saudi AH-6i attack helicopter in Najran (announcement), Houthi spokesman: Saudi Apache helicopter shot down off Najran, Yemeni Military Media released footage showing a Saudi AH-6i attack helicopter being shot down off the coast of Najran, Fighting intensifies across Yemen as humanitarian crisis deepens, ISW: Houthi claim says Saudi light attack helicopter downed; likely close-air-support or reconnaissance mission near al-Jawf

The Houthi shootdown claim conflicts with the Saudi-led coalition account of a technical malfunction. The coalition, relayed by Al Jazeera, confirms an AH-6i crash and two crew deaths; the footage is not independently geolocated. ISW assesses that the helicopter was likely supporting or reconnoitering nearby al-Jawf fighting; that assessment does not establish the crash cause or occurrence time.