Clash along Saudi-Yemen border kills two

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Two Saudi soldiers were killed and five were wounded in a rebel attack at the Saudi-Yemen border, the Pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat reported.

The London-based newspaper said medical sources in Jizan's Samtah hospital near the border reported receiving the bodies of two soldiers and admitting five wounded, including one with serious injuries. Five soldiers and four civilians have been killed since Nov. 3.

Saudi naval forces are increasing efforts to contain the rebels, Al Hayat reported. The Saudi navy is patrolling Yemen's northwest Red Sea coast and has seized five ships ferrying rebel infiltrators, the report said.

Iran and the United State have become more publicly involved in the conflict. A report in The National cites remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki criticizing recent Saudi attacks on rebel positions and offering to "help restore security" in Yemen as evidence to Arab leaders of claims of Iran's expansionist foreign policy goals.

The United States reached a military cooperation agreement Yemeni Chief of General Staff Ahmad Ali, Al Ashwal said, aimed at ending sea piracy off Yemen's coast. The training and security exchange agreement was reached after two days of talks in Yemen's capital Sana'a, Yemen's official Saba news agency reported.