Saudi says will strike Yemen rebels until they flee

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Friday it will keep up its offensive against Yemeni rebels who attacked across the border until it has cleared them from its territory.

A Saudi official said on Thursday Riyadh had launched air strikes on rebels in northern Yemen after the Shi'ite insurgents' cross-border raid this week.

But the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Friday the strikes were "focused on infiltrators in Jabal Dukhan and other targets within the range of operations within Saudi territory."

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has become increasingly anxious about instability in Yemen, which is facing a Shi'ite insurgency in the north, separatist sentiment in the south and a growing threat from resurgent al Qaeda fighters.

"The entry of the gunmen to Saudi territory, the aggression against border patrols...and presence on Saudi soil is a violation of sovereignty that gives the kingdom every right to take all measures to end this illegitimate presence," SPA reported, citing an official source.

"The operations will continue until all sites within Saudi territory are cleansed of any hostile element."

Riyadh will take unspecified measures to prevent any future incursion by the Yemeni rebels, the source said, adding that armed forces units have been deployed to back border guards.

The rebels accused Saudi Arabia of attacking villages within Yemen.

"Saudi aircraft are bombing the Malaheet province and the surrounding Yemeni border villages," they said in a statement.