Rebel shelling kills 7 Saudis

Riyadh & Sana'a: Seven Saudis and an unknown number of rebels have been killed in continued battles between Saudi forces and Yemeni Al Houthi rebels, which continued for a fifth day on Saturday.

Huge plumes of smoke could be seen rising above Jebel Dukhan, a 2,000-metre peak that marks the frontier near the border town of Al Khubah, 60km from the Red Sea coast.

A medical official at Samtah town said seven Saudis, four of them female civilians, have been killed and 126 people wounded since the fighting erupted on Tuesday.

Saudi media said the four women, all of them from the same family, were killed in rebel shelling.

Evacuation

Saudi authorities have evacuated residents of border villages.

Jizan Governor Prince Mohammad Bin Nasser, meanwhile, ordered the closure of 41 more schools in the area as part of precautionary measures.

The rebels claimed in a statement sent by email they are holding an unspecified number of Saudi soldiers with their weapons and vehicles. The rebels said the Saudis started a wide ground attack on Friday. "The arrests came hours after the Saudi ground attack on Yemeni territory," the rebels said.

— With inputs from agencies