RIYADH: The Joint Incidents Assessment Team released a statement on Wednesday regarding a claim that the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen targeted a vehicle in the Sanaa governorate in 2018.

The JIAT investigation found that coalition forces did not target a vehicle carrying five people from two families and a firewood load in the Sanaa governorate on March 21, 2018, as claimed.

However, the JIAT, which was set up in May 2016 to assess Saudi military activity in Yemen, found that the air forces targeted a vehicle belonging to the Houthi militia in the Musawarah area in Nihm district, 40 km east of the capital.

The JIAT stated that the air forces targeted the Houthi vehicle 620 meters away from the coordinates mentioned in the claim regarding the civilian vehicle.

It added the legitimate Yemeni government’s ground forces requested air support to target a Houthi vehicle in Musawarah during armed clashes.

The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen’s air forces then launched an airstrike and used one guided bomb to hit the Houthi target, the JIAT added.

The investigation assessed documents related to the operation, including air mission orders and reports, video recordings, and satellite images.

It also reviewed the coalition’s rules of engagement in light of international humanitarian law, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Based on video recordings of the strike, the JIAT found that the Houthi vehicle was on the road in the Nihm district that connects Marib and Sanaa, the SPA reported.

The JIAT added that the road was free of civilians and other vehicles, and there were no buildings around the military target; neither personnel nor firewood load were seen onboard the vehicle, the SPA added.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in a plane crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday.

The Kingdom also extended its sympathies to the government and people of Azerbaijan, wishing a swift recovery to the injured, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

On Wednesday morning, a passenger plane traveling from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near Aktau, western Kazakhstan, with 62 passengers and five crew members on board.

Later, Kazakh authorities announced that 28 people had survived and that Azerbaijan Airlines had operated the plane.

Unverified video footage circulating on social media platforms appeared to show the plane bursting into flames as it struck the ground, with thick black smoke rising afterward.