Saudi soldier dies in cross-border firing from Yemen

A Saudi soldier was killed in cross-border firing from Yemen on Saturday, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

A security spokesman for the Interior Ministry said that at 1.00pm on Saturday, December 24, a border outpost in Saudi Arabia came under fire “from Houthi elements inside Yemeni territory.”

The “Saudi Army was dealing with the situation as required to retaliate to the source of the fire, to keep the situation under control,” he added.

The exchange of fire resulted in the injury of a Saudi soldier – Sultan bin Ayed Farhan Al-Sharari – who was later pronounced dead before arriving in the hospital, SPA stated.

A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen since March 2015, in a bid to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

The 20-month conflict has killed more than 10,000 people and left thousands homeless in Yemen.

Several dozen Saudi soldiers have also been killed in clashes along the border.

Late last month, a Saudi soldier was killed by a missile fired by Yemeni rebels across the border into the kingdom’s southern Asir province.

The attack came hours before the Saudi-led coalition announced a ceasefire in an effort to end the conflict.

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