A senior commander of Yemen's pro-government forces was killed on Thursday during armed confrontations with the Houthi rebels in the southern province of Dhalea, a military official told Xinhua.

Fierce armed confrontations took place between the pro-government forces and the Houthi rebels in various northwestern areas of Dhalea amid intensified Saudi-led airstrikes, said the local official on condition of anonymity.

The source confirmed that the fighting resulted in the killing of Saif Suqra, commander of the first pro-government army brigade on the province, along with two other military officers.

According to the source, heavy weapons and artillery shelling were used in the fighting that's still continuing, leaving a number of Houthi rebels killed and wounded.

Meanwhile, local authorities said in a statement that pro-government forces launched a large military operation against the Houthi positions and made great progress by regaining control of Chakhab, Sulaim and AlRabi areas in northwest of Dhalea.

The statement pointed out that the area of Houthi-controlled area of Alfakher became under fire and heavy military operations are underway to break the defenses of the rebels around that area.

Alfakher is located near the borders with Ibb province, which is entirely under the control of the Houthi military authorities.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition announced the launch of another airstrike on Houthi positions in the government-controlled province of Dhalea.

The anti-Houthi coalition urged the residents in the province to stay away from the targeted sites, saying the operation is in line with international and humanitarian law.

Both warring sides continued to mobilize large numbers of fighters to the frontlines in Dhalea amid armed confrontations which have lasted for weeks in the government-controlled province.

The areas in the north and west of Dhalea have witnessed continuous fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for four years.

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