The body of a missing soldier was found Tuesday as Saudi forces combed areas in the south liberated from the presence of infiltrators. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, the Assistant Defense Minister for Military Affairs, named the soldier as Mu'eid Bin Jabri Bin Abdullah Bashir, who had been registered missing after military operations in the area. Saudi personnel still missing now number five, the Prince said. Meanwhile, Yemeni rebels pledged Tuesday not to attack Saudi Arabia, a key condition laid down by the Sana'a government to end its nearly-six-month military campaign against them. “As long as no one attacks us, we would not target any party,” the office of rebel leader Abdul Malak Al-Houthi said in a statement posted on the rebels' website. The issue of captured Saudis would not be a “hurdle,” it said, adding that “if there is a willingness to have peace, this issue can be solved through an exchange of prisoners.” The rebel leader offered on Saturday to accept the government's five-point truce terms, as long as the government halts military attacks. But the government rejected the offer, pointing to a sixth condition stipulating a Houthi pledge not to attack Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia announced last week that infiltrators had been chased out of its territory, declaring a full victory over the rebels. The rebels would have to return six missing Saudi soldiers if they wanted hostilities to end, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs Prince Khaled Bin Sultan said last week. The Kingdom had said rebel snipers still were entering Saudi territory. Growing instability in Yemen is a serious worry for Western powers and neighboring countries. They fear the Yemen-based regional wing of Al-Qaeda, which claimed a failed Dec. 25 bomb attack on a US-bound plane, could strengthen its operations there and use it as base for more international attacks. Apart from Houthi rebels, the government also faces separatists in the south. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abubakr Al-Qirbi said the government's decision to reduce fuel subsidies that were weighing on the economy was part of reforms.
