[Al Arabiya Latest] At least 28 Shiite rebels, four Yemeni soldiers and two tribesmen were killed in the latest fighting in northern Yemen on the seventh week of an army offensive, local and military sources said on Saturday.Six of the Zaidi rebels and the four soldiers were killed in overnight clashes in Al-Kahoum, west of Harf Sufyan, the scene of heavy fighting on the road linking the capital with the Saada region, a rebel stronghold, a military commander told AFP.
Saba state news agency said late Friday that four of "the most dangerous" rebels were killed as army troops combed the area of Zu Sulaiman in the Harf Sufyan district.
Eight others were killed in neighbouring farms, while nine rebels "who had barricaded themselves in the houses of civilians" were also killed in the area of Maqqash, in Saada, it added, quoting a military source.
Meanwhile, two tribesmen and at least one rebel died in a clash between tribes fighting alongside the government forces and the rebels in the north, Saba quoted local sources as saying.
Sources in the region told AFP the rebels on Saturday seized control of the Khaneq bridge on the Saada-Sanaa road in Harf Sufyan. Heavy fighting also continued in Al-Amsheya, north of Harf Sufyan, they added.