The aircraft, believed to be a British-made Tornado, crashed in Saada province this afternoon.

Houthi armed rebels too TV channel al-Massirah they had shot the plane out of the sky.

But Saudi state news agency SPA reported the fighter jet had suffered a “technical fault” while conducting military operations.

The Saudis said a special operation was carried out to evacuate the two pilots, who managed to survive the crash.