The Shiite rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis, announced that two missing Saudi soldiers who were expected to be handed over as part of a recent truce deal, died. A Sharq al Awsat newspaper quoted Mohammed Abdel-Salam, a spokesman for leader Abdul-Malik Houti as saying that the two Saudis were killed in the fighting area, asserting that they suffered severe wounds during their capture by the Houtis.
The spokesman added that the mediators were informed about the two soldiers' death. So far, the Houthis had handed over three Saudi soldiers as part of the agreement.
Last week, Prince Khalid bin Sultan, the Saudi Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Affairs, said that the search was still underway for two missing soldiers, and stressed that Saudi authorities had no information whether they were alive or dead.
