[Al Arabiya Latest] Yemeni troops killed 17 Shiite Huthi rebels in overnight clashes in the rugged mountainous north as the army stepped up its all-out offensive, the official Saba news agency reported on Thursday.Four other rebels, part of a group known as Huthis that is seeking an end to the current form of government, were arrested as they fled the battleground in Saada province, a local official told Saba. "The army and security forces have inflicted heavy losses upon the saboteurs and the rebels whether in terms of lives or equipment," the official said.
Jet fighters roared overhead, striking rebel posts as troops exchanged fire with Huthi fighters, who during the gunfight wounded two civilians, one of them severely, the official said.
The army, he added, also destroyed several vehicles that were carrying aid, ammunition and weaponry to the rebels, whom the government says are supported by Shiite Iran.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh said earlier this week that security authorities have put on trial members of two Yemeni cells who had admitted to receiving funding from an Iranian partner totaling up to $120,000 dollars.