Two Bangladeshi nationals were killed in Saudi Arabia's border city of Najran in mortar shell attacks launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels from across the border on May 5 and 6.

The deceased were identified as Mizan, son of Mafiz, of Barura upazila in Comilla and Abdul Jalil, son of Abdul Aziz, of Patharghata upazila in Barguna, said a foreign ministry press release yesterday.

This is the first incident of such killings of Bangladeshis by the Houthi rebels.

The incidents took place while the Bangladeshis were working at their respective work places in Najran, a southeastern region of Saudi Arabia (650km away from Jeddah and 50km from Yemen border).

The bodies were kept in the mortuary of the King Khaled Hospital in Najran.

Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah is coordinating with the deceased workers' employers to send back the bodies and for realisation of compensation. It may also arrange burial of the deceased in line with the desire of the family members of the victims.

The Bangladesh government brought back more than 500 of its nationals from Yemen through the assistance of Indian ships and planes last month when the Saudi-led allied forces and the Houthis started fighting against each other intensively.

The border area has been a flashpoint for Saudi-Houthi clashes amid a Saudi-led coalition's air campaign targeting the rebels in Yemen.

"This is a major development in this war," Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, who is reporting from Riyadh, said. "Up until now, we have seen attacks on soldiers near the border, but not in the city itself."

Last Thursday, border clashes left three Saudi troops and dozens of rebels dead.