Saudis pound Yemen rebels, arrest scores - source

RIYADH/SANAA (Reuters) - Saudi air force and artillery pounded Yemeni rebel hideouts to push the rebels away from its southwestern border and stop the war spilling into its territory, a Saudi security source said on Monday.

The source said Saudi forces also detained scores of rebels during the military operation in the strategic Jabal Dukhan border area on Sunday.

The rebels said on their website on Monday that the Saudi military had widened the scope of its air offensive, carrying out repeated air strikes as well as artillery attacks on the outskirts of Saada city, the capital of their mountainous stronghold Saada province.

Saudi Arabia launched its assault on neighbouring Yemen's Shi'ite Muslim rebels -- known as the Houthis -- earlier this month after rebels staged a cross-border incursion that killed two Saudi border guards.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, fears the growing instability in neighbouring Yemen could turn into a major security threat for the kingdom by allowing al Qaeda to gain a stronger foothold in the impoverished country.

Global aid organisations have voiced deep concern at the escalation of the conflict in north Yemen, where the United Nations now says 175,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz on Monday was quoted as saying that a link between al Qaeda and the rebels was possible.

"It cannot be ruled out that there are contacts or coordination between them," Prince Nayef said, according to the Saudi-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

Saudi media carry frequent reports of an al Qaeda presence among the Houthis and echo Sanaa's claim that Iran backs the rebels.