Seventy-three Saudis have been killed and 26 are missing since fighting broke out in November between Saudi forces and Yemeni rebels, a Saudi minister told reporters on Tuesday. "The confrontation on the southern border" has resulted in "73 martyrs and 26 missing," said Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan in comments broadcast on television from a media conference in Al-Khoba in southern Jizan province.
It was not immediately clear how many of the dead and missing were soldiers. Fighting between Saudi forces and Yemeni Shia rebels, also known as Huthis, began on November 3 when the rebels killed a Saudi border guard and occupied two villages inside Saudi territory. The Huthis have also been fighting Yemeni forces sporadically since 2004.