Agencies, Sanaa :
Three Saudi officers have been killed and two others wounded after Houthi fighters in Yemen fired a mortar round at a Saudi border post, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry.
A statement from the ministry on Saturday said the incident took place the previous day in the Saudi border province of Najran.
The Saudi forces responded with gunfire, the statement said.
The ministry statement also said that since its campaign against the Houthis began last month, 500 Houthi fighters had been killed in clashes along the border. Earlier this month, three Saudi border guards were killed in separate fighting with the Houthis.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting on Sunday from Jizan on the Yemen border, said the Saudi deaths could have an impact on the campaign in Yemen.
“This confirms that the Houthis have been able to come close enough to the border to hit the guards,” he said. “Among the objectives of the Saudi campaign is not only to bring about change but also defend Saudi borders and ensure the conflict doesn’t spill over.
“These deaths will push the Saudis to change their tactics in order to calm growing concerns in the kingdom about the long time it’s taking to achieve the campaign’s goals.
“The Saudis have been hesitating about a ground attack because of the potential impact on its forces – they don’t want to take more casualties.”
Against this backdrop, a medical source in Yemen said Saudi-led air strikes targeting a military camp killed eight civilians on Sunday in the central city of Taiz.
Three Saudi officers have been killed and two others wounded after Houthi fighters in Yemen fired a mortar round at a Saudi border post, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry.
A statement from the ministry on Saturday said the incident took place the previous day in the Saudi border province of Najran.
The Saudi forces responded with gunfire, the statement said.
The ministry statement also said that since its campaign against the Houthis began last month, 500 Houthi fighters had been killed in clashes along the border. Earlier this month, three Saudi border guards were killed in separate fighting with the Houthis.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting on Sunday from Jizan on the Yemen border, said the Saudi deaths could have an impact on the campaign in Yemen.
“This confirms that the Houthis have been able to come close enough to the border to hit the guards,” he said. “Among the objectives of the Saudi campaign is not only to bring about change but also defend Saudi borders and ensure the conflict doesn’t spill over.
“These deaths will push the Saudis to change their tactics in order to calm growing concerns in the kingdom about the long time it’s taking to achieve the campaign’s goals.
“The Saudis have been hesitating about a ground attack because of the potential impact on its forces – they don’t want to take more casualties.”
Against this backdrop, a medical source in Yemen said Saudi-led air strikes targeting a military camp killed eight civilians on Sunday in the central city of Taiz.
