RIYADH: Saudi Arabia yesterday said a "technical fault" forced two of its pilots in an F-15 to eject over waters south of Yemen during a mission amid a bombing campaign targeting Houthi rebels in the country, reported a local daily.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported that the pilots were in "good health" after ejecting Thursday. It said the US offered aid to rescue the airmen.
A US Defense Department official told The Associated Press that an American helicopter flew Thursday from neighboring Djibouti to the Gulf of Aden and rescued the airmen.
The official said the destroyer USS Sterett coordinated assets from the US naval base in Djibouti and the amphibious transport dock USS New York. The US official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to brief journalists by name.
