Sanaa, Sep 16 (IANS): At least three soldiers were killed and five others wounded when the Houthi group launched a surprise attack in the southern Yemeni province of Dhale, a government military source told.

The Houthi group, which controls several northern provinces, launched an artillery and rocket attack early Sunday morning against a government military position in the Bab Ghalaq area in Qataba district, northwest Dhale province, the source told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.

The fatalities included the commander of the military position, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Hamidi, said the source.

The Houthi group has not commented yet.

On Saturday, another fighting between the soldiers and the Houthis in the adjacent province of Lahj left two soldiers killed and five others wounded, according to government military sources.

The clashes followed a period of relative calm on the front lines since April 2022, when the United Nations announced a truce that lasted six months.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi group seized control of several northern provinces, forcing the Yemeni internationally recognised government out of the capital Sanaa.