At least 57 people are killedas pro-Saudi militants battle Houthi fighters and Yemeni army forces in apush to capture Yemen's third biggest city of Ta'izz.
Military sources said 37 members of the Yemeni army and their alliedHouthi fighters and six civilians were killed in Friday clashes whichinvolved airstrikes by Saudi warplanes.
Fourteenmilitantsloyaltoformer presidentAbd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi were also killed.Medical officials said most of the casualties were caused by Saudi aerialassaults.
Saudi Arabia has been pummeling Yemen from the air, sea and ground for a year now in a bid to restore Hadi to power.
Ta段zz governor Ali al-Maamari said pro-Hadi forcescaptured areas in the western and southern suburbs of Ta'izz, including the al-Misrakh district.
Local witnesses, meanwhile,said al-Qaeda-linked militants hadkidnapped a number of Houthi fighters in Ta段zz.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"]
Pro-Saudi militants loyal to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi ride on a tank in the Bir Basha neighborhood of Ta段zz on March 11, 2016. ｩReuters[/caption]Ta段zz, widely known as Yemen痴 cultural center, has been under the control of Houthi fighters and allied army forces for over a year now.
The city is located between the capital Sana'a and the southern port city of Aden, which pro-Hadi militants overranin July. Aden has been wracked by violence and chaos since the fall and attacks by Takfiri groups have become a regular occurrence.
In November, pro-Hadi forces announced a major offensive to try to takeTa'izz.
On Saturday, Saudi fighter jets bombarded residential areas in Khwlan District of Yemen痴 western province of Sana誕, leaving an unknown number of people, mostly women, dead or injured.
Saudi jets also pounded Majzar District of central Ma池ib Province, Yemen痴 al-Masirah news channel reported.
In retaliation, the Yemeni army forces fired a ballistic missile at a center of gathering belonging to Saudi mercenaries at the al-Anad Air Base in Yemen痴 southwestern Lahij Province.
According to pro-Hadi media, five Katyusha rockets hit an area west of the strategic air base, but the strikes caused no damage.
Meanwhile, another Saudi base between Ma池ib and the province of Bayda came under Yemeni rocket attacks.
At least 8,400 people have been killed and over 16,000 others sustained injuries since the onset of the Saudi war. The military campaign has also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished state痴 facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.
Yemenis have been carrying out retaliatory attacks on the Saudi forces deployed in the country as well as targets inside Saudi Arabia.
By Press TV
