A Saudi pilot was killed in Yemen while providing air support for an operation against Al Qaeda militants, a Saudi-led coalition backing the government said on Thursday.

The Restoration of the Legitimacy in Yemen has announced the martyrdom of Saudi Lieutenant Colonel Pilot Muhanna bin Saad Al Baiz.

An official spokesman of the Coalition for the Restoration of the Legitimacy in Yemen, Colonel Turki Al Maliki, said that on Wednesday evening, a Saudi Royal Air Force plane crashed due to a technical failure in the Abyan region of Yemen, while carrying out one of the operational tasks against Al Qaeda.

The spokesman added that the coalition offers its deepest condolences to the family of the martyr, praying to Allah Almighty to rest his soul in Paradise.

Source: Khaleej Times