3 Saudi soldiers killed near war-torn Yemen border

By Hussein Mahmoud Ragab Elkabany, Hamdi Yıldız and Ali Mukarrem Garip

RIYADH

Saudi Arabia said Saturday three soldiers were killed along it border with war-torn Yemen.

The Saudi SPA news agency said one officer and two soldiers "were martyred in defense of religion and homeland" in the southern Jazan region.

Authorities, however, did not provide details about the circumstances of the soldiers' deaths.

Since the beginning of December the number of soldiers who died on the southern front rose to 10.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Sunni countries which launched a massive air campaign in 2015 against Houthi rebels, who overran much of Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa, a year earlier.

Since then, tens of thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed in the conflict, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.

* Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara