Yemen's pro-government forces announced aborting an attack launched by the Houthis in the country's southern province of Dhalea on Monday.

According to a brief press statement released by the joint pro-government forces in Dhalea, the Houthi rebel group mobilized scores of its fighters and carried out an all-out attack against the military sites in the northern part of Dhalea.

The Houthi attack sparked intense armed confrontations with the pro-government forces that succeeded in aborting the militia's assault, the statement said.

Five soldiers of the pro-government forces were killed and more than 10 others were injured during the armed confrontations, it added.

Local residents living near the fighting site in Qataba district of Dhalea confirmed that fighting began overnight and continued with more intensity throughout the day.

"Sporadic explosions are still rocking the areas near Qataba as both sides are using heavy weapons including artillery shelling," one of the residents said on condition of anonymity.

No information was given about casualties among the Houthis as a result of the armed confrontation with the government forces on Dhalea's outskirts.

Last year, the Iran-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of the Yemeni government forces and succeeded in seizing key areas on the outskirts of Dhalea.

The areas in the north and west of Dhalea have been witnessing non-stop fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for about four years.

Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 when Houthi militias forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.