Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s air force attacked Yemeni rebels holding land inside the kingdom, a move that threatened to draw the world’s largest oil exporter into its neighbor’s civil conflict.

Aircraft struck positions in Jabal al-Dokhan and other areas in the mountainous region of the southern Jazan province bordering Yemen after the rebels seized territory and killed a Saudi border guard, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said today, citing an unidentified government official. Saudi Arabia increased its forces in the region and evacuated villages in response, SPA said.

The presence of the Shiite Muslim rebels in Saudi Arabia is a “violation of the sovereignty of the kingdom,” the agency said. Operations will continue until the gunmen are cleared from Saudi territory, it said. Calls to the Saudi Foreign Ministry seeking comment weren’t immediately answered.

The rebels said they had captured Saudi soldiers during clashes inside Yemen today.

“With support from God, a group of Saudi soldiers were seized with their equipment and weapons as well as their Hummer vehicle,” the rebels said in a statement. They did not say how many soldiers were taken; there was no independent confirmation.

Earlier, they said warplanes had bombed areas in the al- Malahid district of Yemen’s Saada province including villages on the border. Saudi Arabia said air strikes were confined to its territory.

Spillover

Saudi Arabia has expressed concern that Yemen’s conflict with the rebels, the Houthi group, in the northwestern region may cross the 1,458 kilometer (906-mile) border they share. Yemen, which has a majority-Sunni Muslim population, accuses Shiite-led Iran, the main regional rival to Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, of arming the insurgents.

“It is not surprising that such problems can spill over into Saudi Arabia,” Jane Kinninmont of the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit said in an e-mailed commentary. “Longstanding Saudi concerns about possible spillovers of violence from Yemen are evident from the ongoing efforts to build a barrier along the border.”

Houthi rebels attacked a border patrol inside the kingdom on Nov. 3, killing a Saudi guard and wounding 11 others, SPA reported. Six Saudi border guard vehicles were destroyed in the attack.

Rebel Warning

The rebels warned on Nov. 2 they would retaliate against Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of allowing Yemeni forces to attack them from inside Saudi territory. A day later, they crossed the border and claimed to have seized a slice of territory.

Saudi Arabia won’t be dragged into the conflict inside Yemen by the rebels, SPA reported, citing a statement from the Saudi Shoura Council, an advisory body that makes recommendations to the king. Saudi Arabia has the right to “protect its territory and secure its borders,” SPA reported.

The Saudi air strikes targeted several border areas in the Saada region of Yemen, rebel spokesman Muhammad Abdul-Salam said in a phone interview yesterday. Yemeni officials have denied that the Saudi air force was bombing its territory.

Yemeni Denial

The Saudi air force has “not entered Yemen’s air space nor were there any Saudi land or air raids on Yemeni territories,” Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemen Embassy in Washington, said in an e-mailed statement. “The Houthi insurgents continue to disseminate false information to deflect media attention.”

The Yemeni army has been pursuing an offensive against the rebels since Aug. 11. Saudi Arabia is pumping money into Yemen to help it fight the Houthis and support the Yemeni economy, according to Mustafa Alani, a regional security expert at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center. Saudi financial assistance to Yemen amounts to $2 billion a year, he said.

The U.S. said it is concerned about the expansion of the conflict along the Saudi-Yemen border.

“It’s our view there could be no long-term military solution to the conflict between the Yemeni government and the rebels,” Ian Kelly, the State Department spokesman, said in Washington yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Riyadh at gcarey8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 10:38 EST