Houthis, pro-Hadi forces clash in Yemen's Taiz

Five Shia Houthi militants were reportedly killed Sunday in Yemen’s Taiz province – and dozens injured – during clashes with forces loyal to the country’s president-in-exile, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a local pro-Hadi source has told Anadolu Agency.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that one pro-Hadi fighter had been killed and another ten injured in the fighting.

In a related development, Houthi militiamen and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Sunday shelled a Saudi military position in southern Saudi Arabia, according to Yemen’s Al-Masirah television channel.

Houthi militiamen and pro-Saleh forces “fired about 20 missiles and dozens of other projectiles at the Al-Maazab military post in the Jazan area of southwestern Saudi Arabia”, the broadcaster reported.

The TV channel’s assertions, however, could not be independently verified.

Yemen descended into chaos last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa. In April, the Houthis also managed to capture Yemen’s southern Aden province, from which Hadi — along with most of his government – was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Recent weeks, however, have seen pro-Hadi forces retake most of the coastal province, allowing for the return of several Yemeni government officials from Riyadh, although Hadi himself has yet to return to the war-torn country.