Sanaa, Aug 18 (IANS): More than 40 Houthi rebels were killed by Yemen's government forces in the central province of al-Bayda, state-run media reported.

According to the state-run Saba News Agency, "the national army forces backed by local pro-government tribesmen engaged in continuous battles against the Houthis in Qaniya area for the second consecutive day" on Monday.

It indicated warplanes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition targeted several Houthi sites and vehicles in separate locations in Qaniya area, leaving an unknown number of deaths and injuries among the rebels, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Saudi aerial bombardment destroyed military vehicles belonging to the Houthi rebels in the same area, according to Saba.

No information, however, was given about casualties among the government forces.

The Iran-allied Houthi militia recently intensified their military operations against the government-controlled areas in different parts of the war-ravaged Arab country.

Following the recent Houthi military escalation, the rebels succeeded in capturing key areas from the government forces that withdrew from their sites in al-Bayda and elsewhere in Yemen.

Yemen has been locked into a civil war since the Houthis overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthis forced him into exile.