Sanaa, Sep 14 (IANS): At least 43 Houthi rebels were killed in Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen's Marib province in the past 24 hours, a military source said on Tuesday.

"The airstrikes targeted the rebel positions, gatherings and reinforcements on the frontlines in Sirwah district, killing 43 and destroying nine weapons-mounted vehicles," the source at the Media Center of the Armed Forces in Marib told Xinhua news agency.

"The airstrikes were a response to the ground attacks launched by the rebels on the (Yemeni) army positions on the frontlines," he said, claiming that there were no casualties among the pro-government armed forces.

The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported 19 Saudi-led airstrikes in the Sirwah district without providing more details.

Last week, the Houthis seized control of Rahabah district in southwestern Marib.

In February, the Houthi militia launched a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

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

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