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Saudi: 2 soldiers killed along Yemen border

September 21, 2015 at 10:53 am

Two Saudi border guards were killed in crossfire with Houthi militias in Najran, south of Saudi Arabia, Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki said yesterday.

“One of the border guards’ patrols in Najran came under heavy fire and shells coming from Yemeni territory at 6:30am on Sunday,” Al-Turki said, adding that the Saudi side fired back and “took control of the situation”.

The statement added that “the exchange of fire resulted in the martyrdom of soldiers Hussein Mahdi Al-Hareth and Ali Ibrahim Al-Khalidi.”

Houthis announced yesterday that they had downed an Apache helicopter that belongs to the Saudi-led coalition in the area of Safir in the Maarib province. No information was revealed on whether there were casualties among the helicopter’s crew.

These developments come at a time when fighting has intensified between the Arab coalition – backed by popular resistance and the Yemeni army – on the one hand, and the Houthi militias – backed by Iran and forces affiliated with ousted president Ali Abdallah Saleh – on the other.

Two days earlier, Saudi announced the killing of three foreigners and the injury of 28 by a Houthi shell that was fired from within Yemen.