ADEN, Yemen, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's government forces declared on Sunday that nearly 20 members of the Houthi rebel group were captured during battles near the northeastern province of Marib.
According to a statement released by the state-run Saba News Agency, the government forces aborted an attempt by the Houthi rebels aimed at advancing into the western part of the oil-rich Marib province.
Groups of Houthi fighters tried to infiltrate into a military position located in the western part of Marib, but the government forces clashed with the rebels and besieged them in the area, the statement said.
Around 20 Houthi rebels were captured by the government forces following the clashes while several managed to escape from the area, according to the statement.
Local Yemeni sources said warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition launched a number of airstrikes against the Houthi reinforcements heading toward Marib earlier in the day.
During the past days, Yemen's Houthi militia stepped up its military operations and carried out all-out offensives against the oil-rich province of Marib.
The Houthi official spokesman said that his group's fighters are in position to invade the government-controlled province of Marib militarily after making significant on-ground military achievements in the country's northeastern part.
The Houthis seized control of al-Hazm, capital of al-Jawf, two weeks ago following weeks of ferocious battles that forced thousands of families to flee their homes to the nearby government-controlled Marib province.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government out of the capital Sanaa.
