Troops loyal to Yemen's government engaged in intense armed confrontations with the Houthi militia in the country's southwestern province of Taiz on Tuesday, a military official told Xinhua.

"A number of areas located in Taiz's northern part witnessed hours of violent armed clashes between the government forces and the Houthis," the local military source said on condition of anonymity.

"A total of 15 Houthis and five government soldiers were killed and several others injured during the fighting recently renewed between the two sides," he said.

No military progress was made by either side following the fighting that occurred near residential neighborhoods in Taiz, the source added.

On Monday, the Houthis launched an artillery shelling against the northern and eastern neighborhoods of Taiz, wounding seven civilians, said local medical sources.

The Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have been locked in clashes with the Iran-allied Houthi military in the north, east and west of Taiz since April 2015.

Yemen has been mired into a civil war since late 2014, when Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.