ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Warplanes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched airstrikes against positions controlled by the Houthi rebels in the country's southern province of Dhalea on Friday, a military official told Xinhua.
"A number of airstrikes by the coalition precisely targeted positions of the Houthi rebels in Hajar front in the northwestern part of Dhalea province," the local official said on condition of anonymity.
He said that the "airstrikes were launched to prevent the Houthi fighters from advancing towards military sites of the pro-government forces in the area."
No information, however, was given about casualties among the Houthi rebels as a result of the Saudi-led airstrikes.
The pro-government Yemeni forces managed to make on-ground advancement and expel the Houthi rebels out from several villages located in Dhalea during the past weeks.
In April, the Iranian-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of government forces and succeeded in seizing the district of Al Husha west of Dhalea.
The areas in the north and west of Dhalea, 138 km north of Aden, have been witnessing fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for about four years.
Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after Houthi rebels forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.
