Sanaa, Jun 15 (IANS): Houthi militia in Yemen launched a drone attack on government forces in the southern province of Shabwa, wounding at least four soldiers, a local military source said.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that the Houthis used a bomb-laden drone to attack a military checkpoint near the complex of the 1st Brigade in the Al-Musina'a area in the southern part of Shabwa.

There were no immediate comments from the Houthi group, which rarely discloses its operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Yemeni government has repeatedly accused the Houthis of carrying out drone attacks in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib, which have served as significant battlegrounds between the warring sides.

Yemen has been locked in a military conflict since the Houthi militia took control of several northern cities and ousted the Yemeni government from the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The ongoing conflict has resulted in a staggering number of casualties and plunged the Arab world's poorest country into humanitarian crises, including widespread famine.