Fierce fighting against Yemeni rebels on the Saudi Yemeni border has caused the death of 113 Saudi troops. Most of the deaths have occurred in Saudi "mop up" operations in Yemeni villages in the mountainous region of the border area where the rebels are based in terrain they know well.. "Yemen, the Arab world's poorest nation, has been in the spotlight since Yemen's al-Qaida offshoot said it was behind a failed Dec. 25 plot to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner."
