SANAA (Reuters) - A fighter plane attacking rebel positions in north Yemen crashed due to a technical fault, the second such crash in recent fighting, Al Jazeera television reported on Monday.
It quoted an unnamed Yemeni military official as saying the Russian-made Sukhoi crashed because of a technical fault while attacking a rebel position in the fighting which has flared since August. The fate of the pilot was not clear.
There was no immediate word from either side on the report.
On Friday, Yemen said a MiG aircraft had crashed into a mountain peak in the Saada region because of a technical fault.
But insurgents, who belong to the Zaydi Shi'ite Muslim sect, said they had shot down the MiG and posted a video on the internet that showed the remains of a plane burning in a field surrounded by low-lying hills.
Fighting between the army and the Zaydi rebels, who complain of political and economic marginalisation by the government, has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of people in the poor Arab country.
The United States and Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil exporter, fear the unrest in Yemen may play into the hands of al Qaeda, which could exploit instability to carry out attacks.
The militant group has staged a comeback with attacks on government and foreign targets in Yemen over the past two years.
Zaydis make up about a third of Yemen's population of about 23 million people.
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