Yemen rebels free Saudi soldier captured during fighting

Feb 15, 2010, 10:42 GMT

Sana'a, Yemen - Yemeni Shiite rebels released on Monday a Saudi soldier captured during the fighting with Saudi forces, a rebel spokesman said.

'We handed over the Saudi soldier Yahya Abdullah al-Khuzayee to (Yemeni) government mediators,' the spokesman, Muhammed Abdul-Salam, told the German Press Agency dpa by phone from the northern Yemeni province of Saada.

The soldier was among seven Saudi soldiers captured by the Houthi rebels in recent fighting.

Abdula-Salam said negotiations were underway for the release of the other prisoners.

The government and the rebels reached a peace agreement on February 18 ending the fighting that has raged on and off since mid- 2004.

Authorities accuse the Shiite group of seeking to restore the rule of the Zaydi royal family, which was toppled by a republican revolution in 1962.

Saudi Arabia was dragged into to the conflict in November after the Houthis carried out a cross-border raid and killed one Saudi border guard.

The Houthis say they were revolting against government corruption and the Yemeni alliance with the United States.