35 Houthi militants killed in central Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally-backed government killed about 35 Houthi militants in the ongoing fighting in the central province of al-Bayda on Sunday, a military official told Xinhua.

The military source said that the pro-government forces supported by the Saudi-led warplanes launched a military campaign and managed to capture three districts from the Houthi militants in al-Bayda province.

"Battles against the Houthi militias in al-Bayda are still ongoing and we have a strong determination to liberate the whole province soon," the local military source said on condition of anonymity.

Scores of young fighters belonging to the Shiite Houthi group surrendered themselves to the government troops while many others fled and left their weapons behind, the source added.

Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition launched a series of overnight airstrikes and targeted several arms depots belonging to Houthis in al-Bayda, according to local Yemeni sources.

Medical sources confirmed that the fighting in al-Bayda left more than 35 Houthi militants killed and about 16 government soldiers injured.

"We received clear orders from the Presidency Office to mobilize more troops and continue in our advancement against Houthis across the Yemeni provinces," an intelligence officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Yemen's internationally-backed government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for about three years been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels over control of the country.

The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to the power.

The coalition also imposed air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching Houthis, who had invaded the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.

UN statistics show more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war that also displaced around 3 million.

The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera epidemic since April, with about 5,000 cases reported every day. Enditem