"This is a humanitarian gesture to ease tension. The other side should now work to end the prisoner issue," he said, adding that Al-Khuzai had a leg injury.
A source said the remaining four captives would be released within hours.
Al-Khuzai later arrived in Riyadh and was received by Prince Khaled bin Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs. The Saudi Press Agency said the prisoner was evacuated by helicopter to Sanaa where he was handed over to Saudi Ambassador Ali Al-Hamdan.
Speaking to reporter, Prince Khaled said: "We would not rest until the return of all Saudi prisoners." He said the Kingdom has been in contact with the Yemeni government to win the release of all prisoners. "We have confirmed reports that two Saudi captives are still alive," he said, adding that efforts are under way to remove the mines planted by the intruders. "There are no mediators except the Yemeni government," he said.
The father and uncle of Al-Khuzai, 30, expressed their happiness over his return to the Kingdom. "We have been praying for his return. The whole tribe was happy when they saw his picture on television," they said from their home in Qunfuda. "We wait for the release of the remaining Saudi soldiers in order for our happiness to become complete," the father said.
A truce, which came into force late Thursday, continued to hold on Monday. Though the fighting has stopped, casualties in the north continue to mount. Seven people — two soldiers, three rebels and two civilians — were killed Monday when an anti-tank mine exploded under a demining vehicle in Al-Iqab, south of Saada city, local sources said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday welcomed the cease-fire but expressed concern for the plight of the 250,000 people who have fled six years of fighting between the rebels and the Yemeni Army.
