Tribesmen kill 20 Houthi fighters in ambush in central Yemen
ADEN, Yemen, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Tribal militia loyal to Yemen's President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi ambushed a military convoy of the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen's southern province of Ibb on Tuesday, killing about 20 people and injuring 10 others, a security official told Xinhua.
"The pro-Hadi tribal fighters set up a well-planned ambush on a convoy comprising of armored cars and tanks in the village of Kaida in Ibb province, leaving about 20 people killed and 10 others injured at the scene," the local security source said on condition of anonymity.
"The Houthi fighters were heading to reinforce the battlefields in neighboring Taiz province," the security source said.
Fierce battles between Houthis and Hadi's supporters continued in Yemen's southern provinces on Tuesday. The Houthi gunmen shelled Tuesday morning military sites manned by pro-Hadi militia in KhorMaksar district in the southern port city of Aden with Katyusha rocket launchers and tank shells.
Medical sources confirmed to Xinhua that more than eight civilians were seriously injured as a result of random shells that landed on residential buildings in Aden.
Fighter jets of the Saudi-led coalition forces continued to target weapons depots controlled by Houthis in a heavily populated district on the outskirts of Yemen's capital Sanaa, causing intensive explosions.
The airstrikes also targeted Houthi-controlled positions and their armored vehicles in Yemen's southern provinces on Tuesday morning, with no immediate reports of casualties.
Security in Yemen worsened after the Shiite Houthi group took over control of Sanaa last September after deadly clashes with government forces.
The impoverished country has seen battles and air strikes since March 26 where Saudi-led coalition forces started military operations in Yemen, aiming to reinstate the government of Hadi who is taking refuge in Riyadh.
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