Saudi says dozens of Yemen rebels dead in border battle

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia said its forces today killed dozens of rebels from Yemen who launched their first major attack on the kingdom since Saudi-led air strikes began last month.

Three Saudi soldiers also died in the battle after the rebels targeted their observation posts, the defence ministry said.

“The ground troops today repelled an attack at the southern Najran border” by Huthi Shiites and allied troops loyal to Yemen’s former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

“The ground troops engaged them” with support from air strikes, the ministry said.

(AGENCIES)