Saeed Al-Batati

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen government forces liberated a large swathe of land in the southern province of Shabwa after heavy clashes with the Iran-backed Houthis as the coalition struck more militia sites across Yemen.

Backed by air cover from the coalition, government troops pushed deeper into Houthi-controlled Bayhan and Ousylan districts, expelling militia fighters from wide areas and taking control of a strategic road that connects the two districts, a military official told Arab News on Thursday.

The official said that at least 60 Houthis were killed in the fighting and government troops are pressing ahead with their attacks on the Houthis in the two districts.

The Yemeni army troops have mounted many attacks on the Houthis in Bayhan, Ousylan and Ain since September, when the Houthis seized control of the three districts and rolled into government-controlled areas in the neighboring Marib province.

In addition, government forces pushed to cut off key supply routes to the Houthis south of Marib, thereby alleviating the militia’s pressure on the central city of Marib.

At least 35 Houthis were killed in heavy fighting with government troops west and south of Marib city amid intensifying airstrikes by the coalition warplanes, the military source said.

The heaviest battles occurred in Al-Amud and Abu Resh, where government forces repelled Houthi attacks. Less intensive fighting broke out in Mashjah and Al-Kasara, west of Marib, and the Houthis were forced to retreat after failing to make headway.

The coalition announced on Thursday that it carried out precision airstrikes on targets in Sanaa, Saada and Marib that killed more than 45 Houthis.

The coalition said that early on Thursday its warplanes struck major weapon and supply warehouses and two sites under construction for military use in Sanaa and destroyed workshops for assembling drone and ballistic missiles in Saada, the Houthi heartland.

Hundreds of Houthi fighters have been killed in Marib province since last month when the coalition intensified its air raids, paving the way for government forces on the ground to push back Houthi attacks.