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Saudi jets 'attack Yemen rebels' Saudi jets 'attack Yemen rebels'
(about 1 hour later)
Saudi aircraft have attacked rebels in northern Yemen following Wednesday's killing of a Saudi security officer in a border area, reports have said. The Saudi air force has attacked rebels in northern Yemen following Wednesday's killing of a Saudi security officer in a border area, reports have said.
The Saudi planes and helicopters had targeted strongholds of the Houthis along the Yemeni side of border, the London-based newspaper Elaph said. Saudi aircraft had targeted strongholds of the Houthi rebels on the Yemeni side of border, spokesmen for the group and Arab media said.
The rebels said the planes had struck four locations using phosphorus bombs. A Saudi official told Reuters they had hit rebels occupying its territory.
The attacks came after a Saudi security officer was killed and 11 were wounded in a cross-border raid by the rebels. The attacks came after a Saudi officer was killed and 11 were wounded in a raid by the rebels on the Jizan region.
The Houthis said on Wednesday that they had taken "full control" of a mountainous section of the border region of Jabal al-Dukhan.The Houthis said on Wednesday that they had taken "full control" of a mountainous section of the border region of Jabal al-Dukhan.
The Yemeni government has been waging a campaign against the group since 2004. 'Successive air strikes'
The Houthis have long accused Riyadh of supporting the Yemeni government in attacks against them. In a statement on its website on Wednesday, the group said Saudi warplanes and helicopters had dropped phosphorus bombs on its fighters in the areas of al-Malahaid, Jabal al-Mamdud, al-Husama and al-Mujdaa.
In October, there were clashes between Houthis and Saudi security forces near the border. After what happened yesterday, it is clear they have lost track of reality and it has got to a point where there is no other way. They have got to be finished Saudi government adviser
Yemen is one of the world's poorest countries and analysts question the ability of the government to assert full control over the country. On Thursday, rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said the bombs had hit "crowded areas including local market in the northern province of Saada".
"They claim they are targeting Houthis, but regrettably they are killing civilians like the government does," he told the Associated Press. "The attacks were followed by hundreds of shells from the border."
A Saudi government adviser said the air force had targeted rebels who had seized Saudi parts of Jabal al-Dukhan, which they said had now been recaptured by troops.
The official said at least 40 rebels had been killed in the fighting.
"As of yesterday late afternoon, Saudi air strikes began on their positions in northern Yemen," the unnamed adviser told Reuters.
"There have been successive air strikes, very heavy bombardment of their positions, not just on the border, but on their main positions around Saada," he added.
The London-based Arabic newspaper Elaph meanwhile reported that Saudi ground forces were also moving towards the Yemeni border.
Saudi Arabia has deployed troops along the border with Yemen
The deployment was later confirmed by Arab diplomats, who told the Associated Press that army units and special forces were amassing in the area, and that several nearby Saudi towns and villages had been evacuated.
Saudi reconnaissance teams believed there were between 4,000 and 5,000 Houthis based in the mountainous border region, Elaph said.
The Saudi government adviser said no decision had yet been taken to send troops across the border, but made it clear that Riyadh was no longer prepared to tolerate the Yemeni rebels, Reuters reported.
"After what happened yesterday, it is clear they have lost track of reality and it has got to a point where there is no other way. They have got to be finished," he said.
Neither the Saudi nor Yemeni governments have so far commented on the latest violence.
Displaced people
The Houthis, named after the family of their leader, say they want greater autonomy and a greater role for their version of Shia Islam. They complain that their community is discriminated against.
They also accuse Saudi Arabia of supporting the Yemeni armed forces by allowing them to launch attacks from its territory, a charge which both countries deny.
The Yemeni government accuses the rebels of wanting to re-establish Zaydi Shia clerical rule, and of receiving support from Iran.
Earlier in the week, 10 rebels captured in 2008 were sentenced to death.
The Zaidi Shia community are a minority in Yemen but make up the majority in the north of the country.
The insurgents first took up arms against the government in 2004.
The government launched a fresh offensive in August 2009 which has precipitated a new wave of intense fighting.
Aid agencies say tens of thousands of people have been displaced.