At least 80 Houthi rebels were killed Friday in clashes with government forces during the liberation of key areas in Yemen’s Dhale province.

They included their commander, Mohammad Al-Sanhani, according to the Yemeni army's September Net website.

The army also destroyed a large amount of ammunition and weapons belonging to the Houthis, the website said.

The clashes came as the army recaptured a city in Dhale from the Houthis, according to a military source.

“The army has succeeded in liberating the city of Qatabah from Houthi militants,” Yemen’s UAE-trained Security Belt forces said in a statement.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthi rebel group overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched an air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.