3 Qatari soldiers killed in Yemen

DOHA

Three Qatari soldiers were killed Monday in war-torn Yemen, in the Gulf state’s biggest losses since it joined a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels.

An army statement cited by the official QNA news agency said the soldiers died in Yemen, without giving details about how and where they were killed.

This was Qatar’s biggest troop loss since Doha joined a Saudi-led air campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen last year.

In November, a Qatari soldier was killed during fighting in Yemen, which fell into civil war in late 2014 when Houthis overran capital Sanaa and forced the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.

The conflict escalated last year when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and restoring Hadi’s government.

Qatar has deployed around 1,000 ground troops and 10 aircraft as part of the anti-Houthi offensive in Yemen.