Al Mukalla: A number of Al Houthi commanders and dozens low-ranking militants have been killed in fierce clashes with government forces and by Saudi-led coalition fighter jets in Hajja, Baydha, Saada and Hodeida provinces.
Yemen’s Defence Ministry said that government forces have killed three Al Houthi military figures and many others in clashes on the outskirts of Medi city in the northern province of Hajja.
One of the dead militants was identified as Ali Abdullah Al Hakem, the commander of Medi front.
Iran-backed Al Houthi militants mounted a second offensive on government forces that lay a siege on some districts of Medi to force militants to surrender.
The ministry said that the offensive sparked bloody clashes that lasted for hours and government forces pushed Al Houthis back to their previous position south of Medi.
On Friday, Al Houthis launched another offensive to break the siege on their forces in Medi.
As many as 20 Al Houthi militants were killed in the offensive amid heavy air strikes by the coalition’s fighter jets, the ministry said.
Pictures posted on social media showed bodies of many Al Houthi militants left behind on the battlefield.
Dozens of Al Houthi military commanders have been killed in Hajja’s Medi and Haradh since early last year when fighting flared on the two fronts.
Government forces are currently holding Medi’s seaport and parts of the city, forcing Al Houthis to hole up in the parts of the city that remain under their control.
Meanwhile, in the central province of Baydha, the coalition’s fighter jets targeted two military sites where dozens of Al Houthis were receiving military training.
The Defence Ministry said that several air strikes targeted on Saturday a military camp on the edges of Rada’a town and another one in Al Arash district.
Dozens of militants who were in the two military training camps were reportedly killed as residents reported seeing ambulances rushing to the targeted areas.
Another air strike struck a building for local authorities that was turned into a command room for Al Houthis.
Intensive air strikes by Saudi-led coalition fighters have been credited for helping army troops on the ground advance in the province.
In Baydha’s Natea district, government forces and allied tribesmen pushed Al Houthi militants from Al Saada mountain and other locations on Saturday.
Government forces rolled into two districts in Baydha last month after taking full control of the neighbouring province of Shabwa.
Meanwhile in the Al Houthi heartland of Sa’ada, coalition’s fighter jets killed an Al Houthi leader and five of his associates on Bouqa front.
After the air strike on Saturday, the Defence Ministry said, government forces stormed a mountain controlled by Al Houthis where they found the body of Mohammad Hassan Awdhan, the Al Houthi commander, and five others.
