ADEN, Yemen, June 25 (Xinhua) -- At least six fighters of the Houthi rebel group were killed during ongoing clashes with the Yemeni government forces in the country's northeastern province of Jawf on Tuesday, an army officer told Xinhua.
The army officer loyal to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government said on condition of anonymity that "more than six rebel fighters were killed during the ongoing fighting with the army in Maslub front" in the western part of Jawf near the borders with Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in the day, Yemen's Houthi rebels announced that 11 soldiers of the pro-government forces were killed during sniper operations in Jawf, the group's official Masirah television network said.
It added that the Houthi fighters launched a surprise military operation from three directions and inflicted heavy casualties on the government forces in Maslub area.
The army source confirmed to Xinhua by phone that "Houthis targeted our sites with sniper operations and only three soldiers were died."
He pointed out that the "Houthis exaggerated in declaration of killing 11 soldiers in the sniper operations."
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.
