5 Saudi soldiers ‘martyred’ in 8-hour Najran clash

In this combination of pictures shared on social media, a slain Yemeni attacker lies on the desert sand after heavy fighting with Saudi forces along the kingdom’s border with Yemen in Najran (left frame). On the right frame is a military patrol vehicle riddled with gunfire.

A Saudi Border Guard patrol is seen along a mountain road along the kingdom's rugged border with Yemen in Najran region in this file photo. (SPA)

JEDDAH: Five Saudi Border Guard soldiers were slain in a day-long battle with “hostile elements” from Yemen who tried to penetrate the kingdom’s southern border on Monday, the Ministry of Interior said.
A ministry statement said that the armed groups attacked from several directions along the vast border in Najran region and it took responding Saudi forces eight hours to completely repel them.
The “martyrs” were identified as Suleiman bin Said bin Suleiman, Musa bin Zain bin Mohammed Marhabi, Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Hassan Sharahili, Marzouq bin Said bin Ali Salloum and Jaber bin Ali bin Hussein Al-Alawi.
The statement did not say which group the attackers belonged. In previous infiltration attempts, the culprits have been pinpointed as members of the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militia.
A number of Saudi soldiers have lost their lives defending the southern borders since Houthis and loyalists of disgraced former Yemen president Ali Abdullah Ali went on a rampage since 2014.
The unholy Houthi-Saleh alliance succeeded in capturing the capital Sanaa and forcing the government of President Abedrabbo Mansou Hadi to seek refuge in Riyadh.
In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries launched a military offensive in Yemen with the goal of restoring the UN-recognized Hadi government.
Peace talks between Hadi’s government and the Houthis are going on in Kuwait in a bid to end the conflict.