SANAA
Some 40 militants of Yemen's Shiite Houthi movement were killed Sunday in clashes with armed tribesmen in the southern province of Shabwah, a tribal source has said.
"Clashes between armed tribesmen and Houthi militants in the Usaylan district of Shabwah have led to the death of 40 Houthi militants and two tribesmen," a tribal source, who declined to be named, told The Anadolu Agency over the phone.
Houthis used transported their casualties by vehicles to the adjacent Al-Baydaa province, the source said.
The source went on to note that armed tribesmen are making "significant advances in the ongoing battle with Houthis, which is taking place on several fronts in Usaylan."
Earlier today, a tribal source told AA that violent clashes had erupted between Houthi militants and armed tribesmen loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in the district of Bayhan in Shabwah.
"Armed tribesmen seized five vehicles and detained their Houthi passengers during a raid on multiple fronts," the source said.
Army units loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh – in alliance with the Houthis – are waging attacks on pro-Hadi forces as well as militants affiliated with the country's southern separatist movement.
Saudi Arabia and Arab allies, meanwhile, have been pounding Houthi positions across Yemen since Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia said the anti-Houthi campaign was in response to appeals by Hadi to "save the people [of Yemen] from the Houthi militias."
Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency in Yemen.
