Yemeni forces kill nearly dozen Saudi mercenaries in north

Nearly a dozen Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to Yemen’s former government have been killed after Yemeni forces thwarted their offensive in the northern province of al-Jawf.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pro-Riyadh mercenaries mounted an attack on Saturday evening to wrest control over al-Ghayl district in Jawf, Yemen’s al-Masirah satellite television reported.

Yemeni army forces and their allies, however, closed in on the militiamen in the mountainous Wadi Iber area as the latter were moving towards al-Ghayl, killing 11 Saudi-backed mercenaries and wounding 10 others.

Yemeni army forces later recovered the bodies of seven Saudi mercenaries, whom their fellow militiamen had left in the area.

A few hours later, fighters from the Houthi Ansarullah movement and Popular Committees launched a barrage of rockets at a Saudi military camp in the Kofel area of Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib.

A Saudi colonel, identified as Abdullah Khalfan Balhid, reportedly lost his life in the attack.

Separately, five civilians were killed on Saturday when Saudi warplanes bombarded Attyal district in Sana’a Province.