Yemenis’ retaliatory attacks leave 119 Saudi soldiers dead in 2017

Yemeni army soldiers, backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees, have reportedly carried out dozens of sniper operations against Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border regions in the first quarter of this year, leaving 119 Saudi soldiers dead. 

Most of the operations were conducted in Jizan, where a total of 74 Saudi troopers lost their lives in 22 encounters, Arabic-language Yemen Watch news agency reported.

Yemeni snipers also conducted nine operations in Najran, where 35 Saudi soldiers were killed.

Eight operations in Asir claimed the lives of 10 Saudi troops as well.

The report came on the same day that Yemeni snipers fatally shot two Saudi troopers at the Alab border crossing of Asir region.

On Monday, Yemeni soldiers and fighters from Popular Committees shot and killed a Saudi trooper in the al-Karas military base of Jizan region.

Another Saudi soldier lost his life when Yemeni army soldiers and allied fighters targeted him at al-Farizeh base in the same Saudi region.

A report by Reuters published in April last year showed that at least 400 Saudi soldiers had been killed in the cross-border fire since the start of the campaign in March 2015. The Riyadh regime has maintained a policy of ambiguity regarding its casualties in the war on Yemen. Senior military officials have said that they would not release such information until after the campaign.

Riyadh's military aggression began with an attempt to reinstate the regime of Yemen's former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Saudi Arabia, and to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The Al Saud regime, however, has failed to reach its goals despite going to great expense.