Jeddah, Aug 22 (IANS) Ten Houthi rebels were killed by Saudi-led Arab coalition airstrikes in Yemen's central province of Marib, a government military source said.

"The 10, including three high-ranking leaders, were hit while driving in two vehicles in Sirwah district, a few miles east of Al-Kasarah frontline," the source in Marib told Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported seven coalition airstrikes on Sirwah.

The Houthis began in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the government's last northern stronghold.

Yemen's civil war flared up in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.