Heavy clashes have been reported at the Saudi-Yemeni border as Saudi forces battle Yemeni rebels for the fifth straight day. Saudi commanders said troops were shelling suspected Houthi positions on Saturday and plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the Jebel al-Dukhan peak that marks the frontier near the border town of Al-Khubah. A medical official said seven Saudis, four of them women civilians, had been killed and 126 people wounded since the fighting erupted on Tuesday. The Shia Houthis, fighting their own government over alleged discrimination, had also claimed to have captured some Saudi soldiers on Friday. Mohammed Abdel-Salam, a spokesman for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera that the men were seized after Saudi ground forces crossed into Yemeni territory. If such a ground incursion were proved true, it would indicate a deepening involvement by Saudi Arabia in a battle that is being viewed as a proxy conflict with regional power Iran.
Posts
