Among the dead was one of the militia leaders, Colonel Ali Hassan Alaghrabi who was believed to have been killed alongside 10 of his fighters in Serwah.

Coalition aircraft have bombed rebel centers in the Addouran Anse area in Dhamar province in Yemen on Tuesday killing Houthis militia and members of the forces of the ousted Ali Abdallah Saleh, Al Arabiya News channel reported.

Sources close to the popular resistance confirmed that at least 20 members of the militia were killed during the clashes which saw intensive artillery and shelling of militia positions.

Among the dead was one of the militia leaders, Colonel Ali Hassan Alaghrabi who was believed to have been killed alongside 10 of his fighters in Serwah.

Meanwhile it is reported that 15 civilians were killed and dozens more injured in the city of Taiz, during what has been described as indiscriminate shelling by Houthi forces.

The Saudi-led coalition began air strikes against the Houthis and their allies, forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, in late March after they pushed from their northern stronghold towards the southern port of Aden.

The coalition, which says the Houthis are allied with Iran, has stepped up air strikes on Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas since a Houthi missile killed more than 60 Gulf Arab troops stationed in Marib province on Sept. 4.

On Sunday, five Saudi soldiers were killed near the border with Yemen, while a Saudi-led military coalition began an offensive to drive Houthi militia forces out of Marib.

The Houthis seized Sanaa last September and eventually forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his administration to flee to Saudi Arabia.