12 Saudi soldiers killed in recent fighting near Yemen border
riyadh — At least 12 Saudi soldiers have died on the southern border since early February, according to an unusual series of official reports released as the country fights Yemeni rebels.
In separate despatches since February 5, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has carried photographs of funerals for the martyrs it said died “defending the southern borders.”
The most recent report, published late on Monday, named Jaber Haroubi as the latest soldier to be killed.
SPA also quoted the father of another military casualty, Mohammed Al Manjahi, as saying he was proud of his son.
A Saudi-led coalition began air strikes over Yemen in March 2015 to support the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the fight against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The Houthis, allied with former members of the security forces loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have carried out retaliatory rocket strikes and engaged in firefights along the border.
They have also launched ballistic missiles further into the kingdom.
An earlier AFP tally of reports by the Saudi interior ministry and civil defence department found that at least 115 civilians and soldiers had been killed on the southern border since coalition operations began.
That total has now reached at least 127.
A Western diplomat said last week that more than 100 members of the Saudi armed forces had likely been killed since the coalition intervened nearly two years ago. —