the Yemen-Saudi border, Reuters reported. The Saudis denied the reports.

Saudi Arabia supports Yemen's embattled government and its internationally recognized president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia in March before returning to the southern port city of Aden in September. The United States backs the Saudi-led coalition, which includes Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan, to push back the Houthis, who control Sanaa, Yemen's capital.

In Yemen's conflict, Hadi, who is backed in the southern part of the country by local militias called the Popular Resistance Committees, as well as local tribes, is pitted against the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional enemy. Both groups are enemies of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, an offshoot of the broader network of Al QaedaOn the afternoon of March 13, 2010, two teams of gunmen linked to a cartel lay in wait outside a private residence in Ciudad Juarez, observing the steady departure of guests from a child’s birthday party. Many of the guests were employees of the United States Consulate in Juarez who were attending with their families.

Though some details remain hazy, what is clear is that a Chihuahua state police officer named Jorge Alberto Salcido, whose wife was a Mexican citizen employed by the consulate, said his goodbyes in the driveway and left the party with his two children, ages 4 and 7. One team of gunmen pursued Salcido in a vehicle and opened fire. He was shot to death; his children were wounded but survived.

Ten minutes after the report