Officials: More than 50 Houthis dead in Yemen in two day

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File photo
File photo

Fighting in Yemen has killed 55 rebels and soldiers in two days after the government launched a major offensive in a coastal area near key shipping lanes, officials said Wednesday

Government forces began the assault Saturday in a bid to recapture the Dhubab district near the Bab al-Mandab strait which links the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean

Troops clashed with Iran-backed Huthi Shiite rebels on Wednesday at a key military base in the region, leaving five soldiers and 12 rebels dead, loyalist military sources said

The Yemeni government and its allies say the presence of rebels near the key waterway poses a threat to international shipping

On Tuesday aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government attacked two Huthi boats in the Red Sea port of Salif, killing 31 fighters, a government military official said

The death toll was confirmed by a source at a military hospital in Hodeida who said many more rebels were wounded ,Siasat Daily reported

In the southern province of Shabwa, seven government soldiers were killed and 12 wounded Wednesday in Katyusha rocket fire from a pocket of rebel territory, military sources said