ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni government forces announced on Sunday killing nearly 13 members of the Houthi rebel group in the country's northern province of Saada, the militia's main bastion.
According to the state-run Saba News Agency, "nearly 13 elements of the Iran-backed Houthi militia were killed and several others wounded by the government's National Army forces in Saada's district of Baqim."
The agency quoted the commander of the 5th Yemeni Border Guard Brigade, as saying, "elements of the Houthi militia tried to sneak into some military sites of the government forces in Baqim, but the army soldiers aborted their attempt."
The commander confirmed that, "the armed confrontation resulted in the killing of 13 Houthi fighters and wounding several others, while the rest fled the area, leaving their light and medium weapons behind."
No information, however, was given about casualties among the soldiers of the government during the exchange of fire with the Houthi rebels in Saada.
Elsewhere in Saada, a warplane of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched an airstrike on Albuqa area in Saada, close to the Saudi borders, according to Houthi media outlets.
Several areas in Saada province that's sharing its border with Saudi Arabia, have been witnessing non-stop armed confrontations for nearly six years between the Houthi rebels and Yemen's government forces backed by Saudi Arabia's border guards.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem
