Troops of the Yemeni army and loyalist fighters are trying to storm a main air base and a camp in the southern province of Abyan, said a senior commander on Monday.

"Fierce confrontations are occurring to achieve this aim," Ahmad Saif Al-Yafei, the commander of the fourth Yemeni military zone, told a local newspaper.

The fighting, around Anad air base and the 15h brigade camp, left a large number of casualties and losses among Houthi rebels, he said.

The army troops and the supporting fighters have already seized military sites near the base and the camp, said Yafei, who was quoted by Aden Al-Ghad.

Meanwhile in Dhale governorate, fighters loyal to President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi said they killed 13 Houthi militants.

A senior Houthi commander in the province was also killed by the fighters who published his identification card and photo to confirm his death.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition allied with southern fighters retook much of Aden in the first significant ground victory in their campaigh to end Houthi control over parts of Yemen and restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi whose government currently runs the country from Saudi Arabia.

Houthi fighters and army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh captured Aden at the outset of the war.
Source: MENA