Al Mukalla: Forces loyal to the internationally-recognised president of Yemen have retrieved bodies of at least 13 Al Houthi fighters killed in Taiz and military sappers defused hundreds of landmines as rebels suffer fresh setbacks in the area, a local government official said.
Colonel Abdullah Al Bahar, the deputy spokesperson of the Supreme Military Council in Taiz, told Gulf News on Friday that government forces seized control of three hilltops that overlook the vast Khalid Bin Waleed military camp in Taiz’s Mokha district and secured their positions on the main road that links the city of Taiz with the western port city of Hodeida.
“The national army troops stormed three hilltops and seized arms, ammunition and a number of thermal missiles,” Al Bahar said. Al Houthi fighters brought these arms from the heavily bombed Khalid Bin Waleed military camp and stored them inside caves and rugged mountains. “Government forces have many times tried to storm the camp, but retreated because of a large number of landmines planted by Al Houthis,” Al Bahar said.
Fighter jets from the Saudi-led coalition launched a number of air strikes, targeting Al Houthi fighters and equipment inside the camp. Last week government forces escalated attacks against the rebels in many locations in the province of Taiz, mainly in Mokha district on the Red Sea. Al Bahar said that army troops secured their positions on Taiz-Hodeida road as explosive experts cleared nearly 1,800 landmines laid by the rebels in the recently liberated regions in Mokha district and close to Khalid Bin Waleed military camp.
In Taiz’s Salo district, local army commander who are battling the rebels there said that bodies of at least 13 Al Houthi fighters were retrieved from the battleground while several wounded fighters were sent to local hospital in Taiz. Government forces are fighting their way into a key road that links Al Salo with the southern port city of Aden. “Al Houthis abandon bodies of their fighters and leave them to decay. We have captured 17 Al Houthi fighters in the continuing battleground.” Al Bahar said, adding that heavy air strikes helped ground forces make limited advances in the district.
Meanwhile, in the northern province of Hajja, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday that fighting intensified in the city of Medi when government forces and Sudanese soldiers, backed by Saudi-led fighter jets and helicopters, attacked Al Houthi fighters who are still in control of a few districts in the city. The ministry’s official news site, 26sepnews.net, said that at least six Al Houthi fighters were killed and government forces captured arms and ammunition that were abandoned by the fleeing Al Houthis.
