About three Houthi militants, including a field commander, were killed and several others wounded by Yemeni government forces in the southern province of Dhalea on Saturday, a military official told Xinhua, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Government forces attacked the Houthi-controlled sites in the northern parts of Dhalea near Qataba district, sparking fierce armed confrontations in the area, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The source confirmed that the government forces succeeded in recapturing key military positions from the rebels but lost an army officer during the confrontations.
"An officer of the Fourth Army Brigade was killed by a sniper during the armed confrontations with Houthis," said the military source.
Meanwhile, several fronts in Dhalea's western parts are witnessing a relatively calm following weeks of intensified fighting that left heavy casualties on both sides.
In April, scores of Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of government forces and succeeded in seizing the district of Al Husha in the west of Dhalea.
The areas in the north and west of the government-controlled Dhalea have been witnessing fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for four years.
Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after Houthi rebels revolted and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.