Story highlights Saudi officials say they will not comment on the Houthi claim of a jet shot down

Images on social media purport to show parts of a downed jet, but skepticism is abundant

One image being shared online shows a chunk of metal bearing words, "Royal Saudi Air Force"

(CNN) Rebels are claiming to have shot down a Saudi Arabian fighter jet on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, a Houthi military official said, but the Yemeni Embassy in Washington denied the claim as the Saudis remained silent.

The Houthi official said the downed jet was an F-16, and several images published online -- including on the Yemen Post's Twitter and Facebook feeds -- showed a purported image of the jet ablaze along with a photo of a piece of metal with the words, "Royal Saudi Air Force."

Houthi rebels seized two unexploded missiles from the site, and the pilot remains missing, the Yemen Post tweeted. One of the photos that the paper posted appeared to show an intact missile.

The news service later reported, citing the Yemen Defense Ministry, that the plane was an F-15, not an F-16.

CNN could find no record of the Saudi military possessing F-16s, but it does have many F-15s.

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