SANAA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 62 Houthi rebels and four soldiers of the Yemeni government army were killed in battles in the country's central province of Marib in the past 48 hours, a military source told Xinhua on Monday.
The battles took place in three frontlines of Al-Kasarah, Mashjah and Al-Zour in the eastern edges of the western district of Sirwah, about 20 km west of the province's central city, also called Marib.
The Houthi rebels intensified ground attacks in the three frontlines, aiming to advance into strategic hilltops overlooking Marib city.
"All the Houthi militia attempts to advance since Saturday were foiled," the source in Marib told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
"A total of 62 bodies of the rebels were still on the desert of the three frontlines, most of the dead were in the west of Al-Balak Al-Kibly mountain," he added.
Both warring sides use missiles, artillery and tanks in the battles.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported 26 airstrikes in two days on the Houthi positions in Sirwah launched by the Saudi-led Arab coalition backing the Yemeni government army.
The Houthi television affirmed that the battle is continuing.
This was the first such large-scale battle since the Houthis began in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the government's last northern stronghold.
The United Nations has warned that the offensive on Marib, which hosts nearly 1 million internally displaced people, could lead to a major humanitarian catastrophe.
Yemen's civil war flared up in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem
