Jeddah, Oct 2: The nation on Saturday mourned the loss of a Saudi security officer who laid down his life defending the border. At the same time, the Kingdom felt proud of its forces who foiled a massive Houthi attack on the southern border.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said Cpl. Nader bin Ahmed Abdullah Ali was injured when projectiles launched by the Houthis landed in Twaal, Jazan on Thursday. He died before he could be rushed to hospital. Al-Turki said the Saudi border guards countered the attack in coordination with the Saudi ground forces.
Saudi forces on Saturday foiled a 9-hour attack launched by Houthi militants and militias loyal to deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh near Mawsem village in the Jazan region.
Saudi gunships, supported by members of the Saudi-led coalition, thwarted the attack that took place in a very unhelpful weather.
The battle resulted in the killing of a Houthi leader and over 40 militiamen. The Saudi gunfire destroyed their vehicles at their positions.
Mawsem village with a population of 500 people is situated at the Saudi-Yemeni border.
The coalition's warplanes continued the mop-up operation for 30 minutes after the battle ended, according to Al Arabiya.
Ahmad Bakil, a senior official of Yemen’s Popular Resistance Committees, said the Houthis try to put pressure on the coalition through border attacks.
The Houthis and their armed backers from the Saleh faction know their attacks cannot succeed, but attack nevertheless to cover up for their very poor military situation in Yemen, he explained.
Speaking to Arab News, Bakil said: "The Houthis try to improve their political standing by launching random attacks on Saudi borders to compensate for their losses in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has hit the Houthi military infrastructure. The Houthis also lost many leaders in battles and their military capabilities have been destroyed.”
In another development, the Saudi-led force in Yemen said it rescued passengers on Saturday from a vessel being used by the UAE military that was attacked by the Houthis in a strategic Red Sea shipping lane.
“The coalition rescued civilians from a vessel targeted by Houthi militias ... that was transferring medical aid to the city of Aden and evacuating wounded civilians for treatment,” the coalition said in a statement to SPA.
The UAE military said on Saturday one of its vessels had been involved in an “incident” near the Bab Al-Mandab strait off Yemen’s southern coast but none of its crew had been hurt.
Separately, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a cinema in the port city of Aden on Saturday, killing one person and wounding three others, residents and a local official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing in Aden's Crater district, which was carried out by an attacker wearing an explosive belt.
Terrorists, including Daesh, have exploited an 18-month civil war between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militias.
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