TEHRAN – Over 100 of Sudanese soldiers were killed while fighting for Saudi Arabia against Yemen’s army and Popular Committees fighters in the southwestern province of Taiz, a military source said on Wednesday.

Yemeni forces managed to inflict massive casualties on Sudanese mercenaries in the Red Sea port city of Mokha, Taiz, killing more than 100 troops of the North Africa country, the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Yemen’s official Saba news agency on Wednesday.

During the clashes, the Yemeni forces retook control of al-Nar Mountain in the eastern edges of Mokha, destroying more than ten military vehicles there, the source added.

In a separate development, the Arab country’s troops targeted Saudi positions with three homegrown missiles dubbed “Zelzal-1” (Earthquake-1) in the kingdom's southwestern border region of Najran in retaliation for the continued attacks on civilians by the Saudi-led coalition in the Arabian Peninsula country.

A large group of Saudi soldiers lost their lives in the attacks.

Also, more than a dozen Saudi military personnel were killed on Tuesday after allied forces in Yemen shot down a Black Hawk helicopter taking part in Riyadh's military operation against the impoverished Arab country.

Saudi Arabia's SPA news agency confirmed the account. However, there was no comment on the reason behind the incident.

Earlier, military sources allied to Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement said the helicopter had been downed earlier in the day in Ma’rib province in northeastern Yemen.

They said at least 13 people, including military personnel from Saudi Arabia and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region, were on board the copter when it crashed. The Saudi media said 12 troops were killed.

Military officials in Saudi Arabia swiftly confirmed the downing but said it was mistakenly targeted by a missile interception system in Ma’rib that was operated by the United Arab Emirates. Yemenis said, however, that armed forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied to Houthis, shot down the aircraft with surface-to-air missiles.

Riyadh said the fatalities included Saudi special forces and crew members. It said an investigation had been launched to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in the past year and a half in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Some 11,000 Yemenis, including women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.

(Source: tasnim)