ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Scores of Houthi fighters launched a large-scale attack against areas controlled by the government forces in the country's southern province of Dhalea on Friday, a military official told Xinhua.
"The Houthis attempted to seize back a number of sites they had lost during the past days fighting near Qataba district of Dhalea province," the military source said on condition of anonymity.
Pro-government forces positioned in Qataba and the surrounding areas confronted the Houthi attackers and repulsed them, said the source.
He added that the Houthis continued to dispatch reinforcements from the neighboring central province of Ibb and may repeat the attack later.
Local residents confirmed to Xinhua that the fighting is still taking place in the areas located between Dhalea and Houthi-controlled Ibb province.
Medical sources confirmed that Friday's fighting left around eight killed and several others injured from both warring sides in Dhalea.
On Tuesday, forces loyal to Yemen's government achieved progress in fighting against the Houthi rebels in the southern province of Dhalea.
In April, the Iranian-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of Yemeni government forces and succeeded in seizing the district of Al Husha in the west of Dhalea.
The areas in the north and west of Dhalea, 138 km north of Aden, have been witnessing non-stop fightings 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.
