Saudi Arabia's navy seized five ships in the Red Sea during a patrol to close down the sea route being used by infiltrators to smuggle men and weapons into the Kingdom. The ships were being used by infiltrators to enter Saudi Arabian territory, according to the Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat. However, no weapons were found on the vessels, according to the newspaper. The Saudi navy has mobilized 4,000 personnel to “protect the area” up to Bab Al-Mandeb, according to a military source. Bab Al-Mandab is a strategic area off the far southern coast of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Al-Hayat also reported that Saudi forces have located a number of bunkers used by infiltrators to launch attacks. There have also been reports of Saudi forces finding booby-trapped animals used by the infiltrators over the last few days. On Saturday, Saudi forces continued to shell the positions of infiltrators with heavy artillery and sent paratroopers and special-forces to search the border area for infiltrators. Saudi border guards have been dispatched along the border areas between Mount Musaim and Thar, areas suspected of harboring armed infiltrators. The guards are patrolling an area set off by 292 border markers installed as part of an agreement reached in 2000 between the two countries. The Treaty of Jeddah resolved a border dispute between Saudi Arabia and Yemen dating back to 1934. Saudi forces on Friday discovered several camouflaged trenches near the border that the infiltrators used for ambushes, Al-Hayat reported Saturday. The forces also arrested a magician who was trying to sneak into the Kingdom through Mount Dokhan Saturday. When questioned, he said he had come to plant voodoo war magic spells on the battlefield to help fellow infiltrators. 100 infiltrators killedSaudi forces have killed over 100 armed infiltrators and arrested 40 others in fierce clashes over the past three days around Mt. Dokhan along the border with Yemen and inside evacuated Saudi villages in which the infiltrators have taken refuge. The infiltrators are running out of ammunition, a military source said, slowing down the pace of their attack on Saudi forces. The infiltrators reportedly constructed secret bunkers on Mt. Dokhan months ahead of the raid on the Saudi border post on Nov. 4. Saudi forces have been moving along the border to systematically clear the areas held by infiltrators. “The forces clear an area, secure it, and then move on to the next area,” the military source said.
