By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA, Yemen

Seven Houthi rebels were killed Monday in clashes with government forces in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province, according to the official SABA news agency.

SABA, citing a military source, said clashes broke out between the two sides in al-Dabab district in western Taiz in which five rebels were killed.

Two other rebels were killed in an ambush set by government forces in Maqbanah district west of the province, the agency said.

The claim could not be independently verified.

Yemen has fallen into civil war in 2014, when the Shia Houthi militia overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, forcing the internationally-recognized government to set up an interim capital in the coastal city of Aden.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive military campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains and shoring up the Yemeni government.