Sa'ada (Debriefer) - Yemen's official forces have taken control of strategic sites in the northern governorates of Sa'ada and Sana'a, the government said Friday, after fierce fighting in which tens of Houthis were killed or injured and a Houthi drone was downed.
"The army troops seized sites overlooking the center of Baqim district, in Sa'ada, following a surprise attack on Houthi sites," the Riyadh-based Saba quoted a government general as saying.
"Five Houthis were killed and others injured in the battles, and the government troops recovered medium and light ordnance," Suleiman al-Noaihi added.
In Nihm, east Sana'a City, the government forces (backed by Arab coalition aircraft) retook control over strategic mountainous sites from Houthis.
On Thursday, the official arm said its forces shot down a Houthi drone in Nihm and killed tens of the group's fighters.
Yemen has been racked by an armed conflict that broke out after the Iranian-backed Houthis had ousted the internationally-recognized government late in 2014.
The conflict escalated after a Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily in the country in March 2015 to reinstate the government of President Hadi.
