At least 30 suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed in military air raid at dawn on the eastern Yemeni province of Shabwa, a security source said. They were reportedly planning an attack on Yemeni and foreign oil resources.
Saudi officials have released their first casualty report since the start of a border war with Yemeni Shiite rebels in November, saying 73 Saudi soldiers had died and a further 23 were still missing.
A Saudi official said on Tuesday that 73 Saudi soldiers had died and a further 26 had gone missing in the border war waged since November against Yemeni Shiite rebels.
The "Red Sea Spirit", a Greek-owned bulk carrier flying the Panama flag, was attacked off the coast of Yemen by pirates on Thursday, though it remains unclear whether the hijacking was successful.
Yemen has rejected Iranian "interference" in its affairs after Tehran's foreign minister criticised regional intervention in Sanaa's war with Shiite rebels in a thinly veiled allusion to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia says it has regained control of Jabal Dukhan, an area they say was seized by Yemeni Shi'ite rebels who reportedly crossed into Saudi territory last week.
Saudi military forces pressed their offensive against Yemen's Shiite rebels on Saturday after the insurgents made a cross-border raid earlier this week. Meanwhile rebels claim they captured some Saudi soldiers in Yemeni territory on Friday.
Reports say Saudi jets have pounded Shiite rebels camps in northern Yemen in retaliation for a rebel incursion across the border. Saudi ground troops are said to be gathering near the Yemeni border.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said his country was ready to begin talks with northern Shiite insurgents, but will not negotiate with rebels with separatist demands.
