The Houthis launched an offensive along the western Red Sea coast in a bid to advance toward Bab al-Mandab, a military source said.
Thirteen Yemeni government forces were killed in clashes with Houthi fighters on Thursday, a military source told AFP, saying the group was trying to advance towards areas bordering the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait.
The Houthis launched a broad offensive along frontlines on the western Red Sea coast, in a bid "to advance toward Bab al-Mandab and areas held by government forces", he said.
"According to an initial toll, 13 government troops -- including two officers -- were killed," the source said, requesting anonymity.
The Bab al-Mandab strait is the chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a key maritime route for Saudi oil exports and other global trade.
Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be embroiled in the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with Yemen's Saudi-backed government.
The rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Yemen's capital Sanaa, setting off a spate of attacks. They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships and territory.
Another military source said most of those killed on Thursday were on the frontlines between the government-held coastal city of Mokha and the inland city of Taiz, while the others died in clashes near the Red Sea coast.
He said the Houthis were trying to sever the route connecting Taiz and Mokha to cut off the port city, which has come under relentless attack in the past month.
Official news agency *Saba *also reported "fierce fighting" between government forces and the Iran-backed group west of Taiz, as well as reporting Houthi missile and drone fire.
Saba reported "sustained escalation by the Houthi terrorist militia across several battlefronts west of Taiz and along the West Coast".
A field officer in Mokha told *AFP *his men were "fighting fiercely to repel the massive Houthi offensive".
"We also thwarted an attack with two booby-trapped boats that exploded near the port," he said.
Last month, Yemen's information minister Moammar al-Eryani warned that the Houthis were plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandab strait, which would allow them to further threaten the vital shipping artery.
The Houthis do not control the coastal areas bordering the strait, but they hold the key port city of Hodeida north of Mokha and have repeatedly attacked Saudi ships in the Red Sea.
