A warplane belonging to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has crashed in the northern province of al-Jawf.

A coalition spokesman confirmed that a Saudi Tornado fighter jet had "fallen" while carrying out a support mission near Yemeni army units, according to Saudi Arabia's state news agency SPA.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they shot down the plane.

The Saudi-led coalition has been battling the rebel Houthi movement since 2015.

It intervened after the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised government from power in the capital Sanaa.

The Houthi rebels said they used ground-to-air missiles to down the warplane on Friday night. They also accused the coalition of killing 30 people in retaliatory airstrikes in al-Jawf on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia has not provided details of any casualties from the crash, or what caused it.

What's the background?

Yemen has been at war since 2015, when President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and his cabinet were forced to flee the capital Sanaa by the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia backs Mr Hadi, and has led a coalition of regional countries in air strikes against the rebels.

The coalition carries out air strikes almost every day, while the Houthis often fire missiles into Saudi Arabia.

The civil war has triggered the world's worst humanitarian disaster, with an estimated 80% of the population - more than 24 million people - requiring humanitarian assistance or protection.

Tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the conflict.

Source: BBC

BDST: 2122 HRS, FEB 15, 2020

AH