Army, militants clash in Yemen: 33 killed

As troops sealed off villages in the rebel Saada province near the border with Saudi Arabia, clashes for the first time extended southward to the region of Amran where fighters ambushed an army convoy, killing three soldiers.

Army soldiers cordoned off villages in Saada province on the lookout for followers of radical rebel Zaidi preacher Sheikh Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi, who was killed by Yemeni armed forces in September last year.

A total of 23 rebels and 10 members of the army and security forces have been killed since the violence erupted early Monday, in the most serious confrontations since Huthi was declared dead, tribal sources told AFP.

They also said 51 rebel fighters were detained by the authorities.

There was no official confirmation of the casualties or the arrests. The official news agency SABA reported late Monday that the army clashes with "subversive elements affiliated" to Huthi's movement killed at least 15 people, including seven members of the army and security forces.