Yemen's army forces launched a military operation against areas controlled by the Houthi group in the country's southwestern province of Taiz on Wednesday, killing four rebels, a government official told Xinhua.

The government source said on condition of anonymity that "units of the army forces carried out a military operation and targeted areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Maqbanah district located to the western part of Taiz."

He said that "four Houthi rebels including their military supervisor were killed during the army operation and several others wounded."

"Intense armed confrontations were sparked in the area following the army operation that succeeded in pushing the Houthis to withdraw from their sites," he added.

No information, however, was given about casualties among the pro-government army forces following the armed confrontations with the Houthi rebels in Taiz.

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

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

The civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.