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Yemeni tribesmen kill 18 Houthi fighters: residents

Published June 2nd, 2015 - 09:52 GMT
Armed tribesmen of Yemen's central province of Ibb killed 18 Houthi fighters in an ambush, residents said Tuesday. (AFP/File)
Armed tribesmen of Yemen's central province of Ibb killed 18 Houthi fighters in an ambush, residents said Tuesday. (AFP/File)

Armed tribesmen of Yemen's central province of Ibb killed 18 Houthi fighters in an ambush Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The attack hit the rebels in the town of Qaeda while they were on their way to Taiz, residents told Reuters, where there have been heavy clashes between Iran-backed Shiites and supporters of fugitive president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in September and continued to spread to the south, triggering a response from the Saudi-led coalition that has been launching airstrikes against the rebels. Houthis consider their fight a revolution, while Gulf states worry the rebels are a proxy for Iran's spreading influence.

Neighboring Oman is hosting talks between the Houthis and American officials aimed toward ending the Yemeni conflict. The sultanate is a close ally of both the US and Iran and often acts a mediator between the two.

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