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ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATHPro-government Popular Resistance Committees fighters carry the body of a Houthi fighter, killed in an ambush in Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz January 7, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. TEMPLATE OUT Image Credit: REUTERS

Sana’a: Yemeni security and medical officials say 35 fighters have been killed in clashes between Al Houthi militants and Yemeni forces in Taiz, the country’s third-largest city.

The officials say Al Houthi militants were trying to retake the western part of the city Saturday, while a Saudi-led coalition launched more than a dozen air strikes to prevent Al Houthis from advancing.

Yemen’s civil war pits Al Houthi militants against fighters allied with the internationally recognised government. A Saudi-led coalition began launching air strikes against Al Houthis in March 2015.

Iran-backed Al Houthis had besieged Taiz for over a year until Yemeni forces and resistance fighters pushed them out of the western part of the city last week, reopening a passage into Taiz.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters.