ADEN, Yemen, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Forces loyal to Yemen's government announced Wednesday seizure of strategic military sites from the Houthis in the country's southern province of Dhalea.
According to the Defence Ministry's website, "the army forces backed by local fighters liberated a number of strategic military sites near Qataba in Dhalea's northern part after intense battles."
"More than 30 Houthis, including the field military commanders of the militia, were killed by the army forces," the website said in a statement.
A number of armored vehicles and large quantities of weapons, including various types of ammunition, were recovered by the pro-government army forces after the Houthis' withdrawal, the statement added.
No information, however, was given about casualties among the pro-government army forces following the battles with the Houthis in Dhalea's northern parts.
The Houthi military authorities based in Sanaa made no comments regarding the pro-government reports of seizing strategic military sites in Dhalea front and killing 30 of the group's fighters.
The pro-government forces managed to make on-ground advancement and managed to expel the Houthis out from several villages located in Dhalea during the past weeks.
In April, the Iranian-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of government forces and succeeded in seizing the district of Al Husha in the west of Dhalea.
The areas in the north and west of Dhalea, 138 km north of Aden, have been witnessing the non-stop fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for about four years.
Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after the Houthis revolted and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.
