Sanaa, Jul 4 (IANS): Forces loyal to the Yemeni government launched a military operation against the Houthi rebels in the country's central province of al-Bayda, leaving 15 people from both sides dead, an official said.

The Houthi rebels lost control over a number of military sites following hours of intense armed confrontations with the government forces in al-Bayda, the official told Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

The military operation aimed at liberating al-Bayda from the Houthi militia, according to Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Iryani.

Yemen has been locked into a civil war in 2014 since the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militia overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

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.