The Turkish plane, al-Masirah said, will take to Turkey 158 Saudi-backed mercenaries, who were injured in recent fighting with the Yemeni army and popular committees in Yemen’s province of Ta’izz. The injured are to receive treatment in Turkish hospitals.
Turkey is said to be among the main supporters of militant groups in Syria and stands accused of training and arming Takfiri elements and facilitating their passage into the country.
The Turkish government also reportedly supports the Saudi campaign against Yemen, which began in late March 2015 in a bid to restore power to Yemen’s Saudi-backed former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Riyadh’s campaign has claimed the lives of more than 11,400 people, according to figures compiled by the Yemeni non-governmental monitoring group Legal Center for Rights and Development.