Yemen military helicopter crashes in near rebel held areas killing 13 soldiers

Report: 13 killed in Yemen’s chopper crash

SAN’A, Yemen — The official Yemeni news agency reports that 13 soldiers were killed and another wounded in a helicopter crash in the northern war-torn province of Saada.

The agency quoted an unnamed official saying Sunday’s crash at Saada airport was due to a technical fault.

It said the plane crashed into a military vehicle with three soldiers on board shortly after taking off from the military airport carrying seven wounded soldiers and its crew of four soldiers.

After six years of war, Yemeni government and Shiite rebels reached a cease-fire agreement last week.

Yemen has come under international pressure to end the conflict and focus on a separate threat from an al-Qaida offshoot that has established a base of operations there a year ago.