Aden, Yemen, May 4 (UNI) A Houthi assault on military positions in Yemen's oil-rich Marib province killed three pro-government soldiers and wounded eight others on Saturday, a military official told Xinhua.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Houthi fighters launched a coordinated offensive on army sites in the Harib district in the south of the mostly government-held province.

"Fierce clashes broke out and continued for several hours as government troops mounted a strong defence," the official said.

The wounded were transferred to medical facilities in neighbouring Shabwa province, he added.

In a separate statement, the Southern Giants Brigades, a pro-government force, said it had repelled the attack and inflicted heavy casualties, claiming "dozens" of Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in the fighting.

Elsewhere in the country, Yemeni government forces shelled Houthi positions near the Hadd Yafea front in southern Lahj province in what officials described as retaliation for recent Houthi artillery strikes.

The renewed violence comes two days after clashes in Lahj left two government soldiers dead and five wounded. Government sources said they killed four Houthi fighters and injured 13 others in that confrontation.

The Houthi group has not issued any statement regarding the recent clashes. It rarely discloses details of its engagements with pro-government forces. The group, which seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, has been battling the internationally recognised government for over a decade.

Military analysts say the intensifying clashes could signal the government's preparations for a broader offensive aimed at reclaiming Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen. The campaign, they suggest, may receive support from regional allies and the United States, which stepped up airstrikes on Houthi-controlled territory in recent days.

UNI XINHUA ARN