Sana'a, May 28 (IANS) The Yemeni defense ministry has denied reports suggesting anti-government armed tribesmen took control over military bases and shot down military planes outside the capital, Xinhua quoted official Saba news agency as stating.

"What have been reported by media that tribe militants seized military bases and shot down fighter jets, were baseless," Saba quoted a defence ministry spokesman as saying Friday.

"What happened was that an armed group belonging to the opposition Muslim Brotherhoods Islah party and their allies of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs) raided a military check point stationed in Farada area in Nehm, some 40 km northeast of Sanaa," the spokesman said.

The government troops fired back at those outlaw militants, inflicted big casualties among the attackers as the clashes also led the commander of the military checkpoint and six soldiers killed, said the official.

He also denied that military planes were shot down.