Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, was at the frontlines when Yahya Abdullah Amir Al-Khuza'i, a Saudi soldier was returned Monday to his homeland by the infiltrators. Al-Khuza'i went missing at the frontlines during the recent clashes at the southern border. He disembarked from a plane at Riyadh Airbase after having been repatriated to the Saudi embassy in Yemen earlier. Speaking to reporters after having been assured of the health of the fighter, Prince Khaled insisted that the infiltrators should hand over the remaining four Saudi captives. He confirmed that only the Yemeni government was involved in mediating this matter. He reiterated that the infiltrators were no longer on the battlefield. The Saudi border was “totally purified while our armed forces are patrolling the area”, he said. The operation to clear mines had already started, in coordination with the Yemenis, Prince Khaled said. For his part, the soldier thanked the government of the Kingdom and King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for their efforts to secure his safe release. Infiltrators released Monday the first of the five Saudi soldiers in their captivity, the head of the ceasefire committee in Saada, Ali Abdullah Abu Haliqa, said. Speaking to Okaz from the military zone in Saada, Abu Haliqa said that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was personally pursuing the release of the remaining captives. “I expect the other prisoners to be freed soon,” he added.
