Sanaa, November 16:Yemeni armed forces and Zaidi Shiite rebels fought a fierce battle on Monday in the rugged Malahidh area near the border with Saudi Arabia, an army spokesman said in Sanaa.
“Violent fighting was taking place in the middle of the day on the Malahidh front after the army took total control of Jebel Khazaen,” in the north of the Malahidh region, spokesman Askar Zuail told a news agency.
Malahidh, in the west of hilly Saada province, stronghold of the rebellion, has been a key battleground since the army launched its “Operation Scorched Earth” against the rebels on August 11.
The region borders Saudi Arabia, which joined in the north Yemen conflict following the death of one of its soldiers in a November 3 skirmish with Zaidi rebels on Jebel al-Dukhan mountain.
The Yemeni side of Jebel al-Dukhan is within the Malahidh district.
The Yemeni Defence Ministry said on Monday said that the army regained control of several hills in the Gharaz area southeast of Saada and cleared them landmines.
Three rebels were arrested in army assaults in Saada, around 240 kilometres north of Sanaa, and two more in Aleb, a frontier post north of Saada, the ministry said on its website.
—Agencies