Politics
07:32, 06-Nov-2017
Saudi deputy governor killed in helicopter crash near Yemen
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The deputy governor of Saudi Arabia's southern Asir province, Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, and several colleagues were killed in a helicopter crash near the country's southern border with Yemen on Sunday, Saudi state TV Ekhbariya reported.
Local newspaper Okaz reported the helicopter went down while the officials were taking a tour of an area near the coast in Asir, which borders Yemen.
The reports did not elaborate on the cause of the crash.
The crash comes after Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile near Riyadh's international airport after it was fired from Yemen, in an escalation of its war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The missile attack was the first aimed by the Shiite rebels at the heart of the Saudi capital, underscoring the growing threat posed by the raging conflict in Yemen.
(Top image: An apache helicopter flying during the Northern Thunder military exercises in Hafr al-Batin, 500 kilometers northeast of the Saudi Capital Riyadh, March 10, 2016. /AFP Photo)
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