At least 35 Houthis were killed in clashes with the Yemeni army Tuesday in Qataba district of Al-Dhalea province, according to the Ministry of Defense’s official website.

National army forces backed by popular resistance groups launched an attack on positions of the Houthi militia in the areas of Hamrat and Watta Al-Wa’al, it said.

At least 15 others were wounded during the clashes, the source said, adding the soldiers destroyed and confiscated some military vehicles and ammunition of the Houthis.

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

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

The ongoing conflict has wrecked much of the impoverished country’s basic infrastructure, prompting the UN to describe the situation there as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.

AFP.