ADEN, Yemen, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 80 members of the Houthi militia were killed in the ongoing battles with the Yemeni government forces in the country's strategic northwestern province of Hajjah, a military official told Xinhua on Monday.
"Intensified airstrikes and ferocious battles occurred during the past 72 hours in Abs and Haradh districts of Hajjah, leaving around 80 Houthi militias killed and scores others injured," the local military source said on condition of anonymity.
He said that a series of airstrikes struck Houthi military vehicles and gatherings when they were preparing to launch attacks against the government-controlled areas in Abs district of Hajjah.
Meanwhile, a source of the Yemeni government said that their forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition succeeded in thwarting several Houthi attacks against Abs and Haradh districts.
The government source, preferring to remain anonymous, explained that the Houthis launched a major attack on the 105th military sector of the government forces stationed in the village of Bani Hassan in Abs district.
The source indicated that seven government soldiers were killed in the Houthi shelling.
Under the cover of the intensified airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, the Yemeni government forces have been engaged in intense battles with the Houthi fighters in Hajjah's district of Haradh.
Haradh was the main gateway for Yemen's exports before a land port there was closed by the Houthis in 2014.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. ■
