At least 90 were killed in heavy clashes over three Yemeni cities on Sunday, as forces loyal to the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi fought Houthis and supporters of deposed leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

 

The fighting took place in the Western Yemeni cities Maareb, Taez and Aden, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

 

Hadi loyalists in the strategically important central city of Taez on Sunday also took back several districts from the Iran-allied Houthi militia amid heavy fighting, residents said.

 

The reverses deal a blow to the Houthis in an area they have controlled largely unopposed for more than a month. They may be a sign that more than a month of Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi forces have emboldened armed opposition groups.

 

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Sunday that Saudi border guards have destroyed a truck and vehicle carrying arms in Al-Harath district in the southwestern city of Jizan city near Yemen.

 

The news comes after Saudi border guards on Saturday evening killed at least 15 Yemeni Houthi militias near the kingdom’s frontier in two vehicles, a Saudi official told Al Arabiya News Channel.

 

In the incident, which took place close to Jizan, Saudi border guards fired at the Houthi squad from an 800-meter distance using an anti-tank weapon, the official - who spoke under condition of anonymity - told an Al Arabiya correspondent.

 

The deadly confrontation was the second incident near Jizan on the same day. Last week, Saudi artillery shelled a group of Houthis gathering on the border near the same city.

 

The Saudi border guards are also currently on alert in Najran, another southwestern border city.