Bahrain says fourth soldier dies after Yemeni rebel attack

Manama, Bahrain (AFP): A fourth Bahraini soldier has died after an attack this week on his country’s contingent in the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Huthi rebels, the Gulf archipelago’s army said.

Bahrain had previously announced the deaths of three of its soldiers in Monday’s attack near the Saudi border with Yemen. It accused the Huthis of carrying out the drone strike that killed them.

First Lieutenant Hamad Khalifa al-Kubaisi had on Friday “succumbed to serious injuries as a result of the treacherous Huthi attack”, the Bahraini army said.

He had been wounded while “performing his national duty”, it said in a statement posted on social media.

This is the most significant Bahraini troop loss in the Yemen conflict since five soldiers were killed in 2015.

Saudi Arabia, the United States, France and the United Nations have condemned the attack.

Bahrain and the United States were among the countries that blamed the attack on the Huthi rebels, who have yet to make any comment on the matter.

Monday’s drone strike was reported only hours after a statement by the Huthis decried “Saudi bombings” which they said wounded four people in their stronghold of Saada, near Yemen’s northern border with Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain has taken part in the military intervention spearheaded by Saudi Arabia since 2015 in support of the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

A Huthi delegation held five days of talks in Saudi Arabia this month aimed at consolidating a UN-brokered ceasefire, which has largely held despite officially expiring in October.