ADEN : Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed 14 troops in an attack south of the port city of Hodeidah, a military official aligned with the country's internationally-recognised government told AFP on Sunday.

The official said pro-government forces had repelled the attack in Hays district, south of Hodeidah, in "clashes lasting for several hours at dawn on Saturday".

He added "fighting resulted in dead and wounded among (Houthi) ranks," without specifying the number killed in the opposing force.

The Houthis have been at war with the government since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The rebels control Yemen's capital Sanaa and much of the north, including Hodeidah on Yemen's western Red Sea coast, while the internationally-recognised government holds much of the south.

The fighting between the two sides has largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022.

But on Friday the Houthis threatened airports and vital assets belonging to Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Yemen's Aden-based government.

The rebel group, part of Iran's "axis of resistance" against Israel and the United States, accused the kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian plane from landing.