Cairo: At least 70 Houthi militants have been killed in air strikes by the Arab Saudi-led Coalition along Yemen’s Coast near the western province of Hodeida, field sources said on Sunday as forces of the internationally-recognised government are pressing on to liberate the strategic Red Sea port city.
More than 20 Al Houthi insurgents were, meanwhile, captured by government forces near Hodeida in mop-up operations in the area, according to the Dubai-based television Al Arabia.
An Al Houthi arms cache hidden there was also seized.
In recent weeks, government forces, supported by the coalition’s air power, have advanced on Hodeida, which is a major port for Yemen.
The port is used by Al Houthis to receive weapons smuggled in by Iran.
Capturing the port would severely cripple the militants and analysts believe could trigger the beginning of the end of the war.
The resistance forces, backed by the Arab Coalition, late Saturday recaptured resorts on the outskirts of the Hodeida, the capital of the province, from Iran-allied Al Houthis.
Forces of the Arab Coalition have made headway in fighting with Al Houthis on the Red Sea coast north of Hayes and in the eastern areas of Al Mashrai and Al Madman, Emirates’ news agency WAM reported.
Following assaults by coalition fighter jets and artillery, Al Houthi militia lines collapsed, with their forces fleeing the front, leaving behind them their belongings, their weapons and the bodies of those who have been killed, the agency added.
On the outskirts of Hodeida, Arab Coalition fighters continue to press Al Houthis, forcing many of them to flee to the mountains.
Backed by the UAE Armed Forces, Yemen’s joint resistance fighters launched a large-scale combing operation across vast swathes in Al Dorihmi area as part of the ongoing build-up for liberating the city and the port of Hodeidah.
For the second time in 24 hours, the Yemeni army foiled a new infiltration attempt by Al Houthis on Yemen’s Red Sea Coast, inflicting heavy damage on them.
A Yemeni field source has confirmed that the joint resistance forces have combed the pockets used by Houthi militias across the liberated areas in the wake of a failed infiltration attempt into Al Moshair’i area.
The militia attempted to sneak through Al Hosaynia into Al Moshair’i area to attack the Yemeni forces, who responded with an intensive combing operation that resulted in killing and injuring a number of the coup perpetrators and seizing large caches of weaponry that they had got after plundering the state’s arms depots, he added.
This was followed by a large-scale offensive across Al Taif area and its precincts by the government forces, who secured large swathes of territory amid continued collapses in Al Houthis’ defence lines, the source added.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and partners, including the United Arab Emirates, started a campaign codenamed Resolve Operation against Al Houthis after the Iran-backed rebels moved on the southern port city of Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, after the rebels seized the capital Sanaa.
