Four Saudi officers and eight soldiers were killed in a plane crash during a mission in the eastern Yemeni Province of Mareb, the Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen on Tuesday said.

A Black Hawk helicopter crashed killing the 12 personnel on board, the Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a coalition statement.

The coalition is currently investigating the cause of the crash.

Saudi Arabia started an air campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen in March 2015, fearing that rebels will give their regional rival, Iran, a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.

The alliance comprises a number of Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

Houthi rebels seized the capital Sana’a in September 2014 and continued to advance through the country, before the Yemeni army backed by the Saudi-led air campaign managed to regain the southern city of Aden, which currently hosts the government and the presidential office.

(dpa/NAN)