Special to WorldTribune.com

Houthi rebels claim tribesman shot down a Moroccan F-16 fighter that was part of a Saudi-led airstrike over Yemen on May 11.

The F-16 reportedly went down during a strike on Houthi-controlled positions in Sanaa and was seen as threatening a humanitarian truce called between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis.

The loss was the first for the Moroccan force in the mission. Morocco, which initially contributed six F-16s stationed in UAE to the Saudi-led coalition that has U.S. support, would only confirm the fighter was missing.

“Now there’s confirmation that the plane fell and its location has been determined,” coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asseri told Saudi-owned Arabiya TV on May 12.

“The fate of the pilot remains unknown, but from the platform of Al Arabiya we hold the Houthi militias and their allies responsible for the safety of the pilot.”

Coalition planes have been hitting army units loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March 26. The mission was undertaken to restore Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

  Moroccan F-16 in Saudi-led mission said shot down over Yemen, WorldTribune.com