ADEN, Yemen, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebel group announced Tuesday that 11 soldiers of the pro-government forces were killed during sniper operations in the country's northeastern province of Jawf.
According to the Houthi-affiliated Masirah television network, the group's sniper unit killed about 11 soldiers of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces in Maslub front to the western part of Jawf near the borders with Saudi Arabia.
It said that the Houthi fighters launched a surprise military operation from three directions and inflicted heavy casualties on the government forces in Maslub area.
No information, however, was given about casualties among the Houthi rebels following the fighting with the government forces.
There was no comment from the government forces or the country's Defence Ministry on the Houthi claim.
Yemen's Houthi rebels have recently stepped up their attacks against the government forces in different areas across the war-torn Arab country.
The rebels also intensified their drone and missile attacks against key Saudi facilities including civil airports and oil companies.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 3 million others and pushed over 20 million Yemenis into the brink of famine.
