Asia

Home page

Asia

Gunshots hit Yemeni military helicopter

15 May 2013 20:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Yemeni military helicopter was shot by gunfire while it was en route from the capital Sanaa to the southern province of al-Bayda on Wednesday, the defence ministry said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The chopper was carrying members of a national dialogue conference who are on field visits to al-Bayda.

Yemen launched the reconciliation dialogue between political parties in March, which is scheduled to run for six months to resolve prolonged political crisis, draft a new constitution and prepare for general elections in February 2014. The dialogue is part of a UN-backed power transfer deal that eased former President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power in 2012 following a yearlong of mass uprising.

"Three gunshots hit the helicopter in Radda town of al-Bayda but caused no technical fault. The plane landed properly in the province as the damage was repaired before it continues its journey," the ministry said in a statement on its website, citing an unnamed spokesman of the Air Force.

The ministry did not identify the gunmen.

Al-Bayda, about 200 km southeast of Sanaa, is one of a strong base for the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

The accident came two days after a Sukhoi jet exploded in the air and crashed in a residential neighborhood in Sanaa, killing its pilot. It was the third plane crash in six months in Sanaa.

Investigations into the plane crash were underway, said the officials.