Forces loyal to Yemen's former president on Friday attacked "several locations" on the Saudi border, sparking a battle in which four Saudis and dozens of the Yemenis were killed, the Saudi-led coalition said.

"By the Grace of God, the Saudi armed forces today were able to repel an attack from the Yemeni side targeting several locations in Jazan and Najran," a coalition statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said early Saturday, referring to two Saudi border districts.