Houthi fighters killed in clashes in Yemen’s Taiz: Army

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) – At least ten members of the Shia Houthi militia and their allies were killed in Thursday clashes with pro-government forces in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province, according to a Yemeni military official.

"Yemen’s national army repulsed an attack by Houthi militiamen and their allies on an air-defense camp in western Taiz," Colonel Abdu al-Saghir, leader of the army’s 17th Division, told Anadolu Agency.

"During the fighting, our forces managed to kill 10 of the rebels," al-Saghir said, going on to claim that army forces had not sustained any losses.

According to al-Saghir, army forces also managed to recapture two hills in Taiz -- Al-Sawda and Al-Khalwa -- from Shia militiamen.

There has been no comment from Houthi leaders regarding the army official’s claims.

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when Houthi rebels overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated last year when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a major air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled Saudi-backed government.

Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in the conflict to date -- more than half of them civilians -- while another three million are believed to have been internally displaced by the fighting.