The Saudi air defense dealt a heavy blow to Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Republican Guard members loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri, spokesman for the Arab coalition, confirmed to Arab News that Saudi Apache helicopters killed dozens of Houthis and their aides in targeted air attacks at the border near the southwestern province of Jazan.
He said Saudi forces also repelled an attack by Yemeni rebels along the border that was aimed at the Asir region.
The helicopter gunship attacks come following a Houthi rocket strike in Jazan on Wednesday that injured a Yemeni resident in Al-Tawaal village. According to a media report, several vehicles belonging to the Houthis were destroyed in the attack.
The Kingdom has been involved in counterattacks after militias launched several rocket attacks from Yemen.
Meanwhile, seven fighters were killed in clashes between the Houthis and loyalists in southwest Yemen on Thursday, AFP quoted a loyalist officer as saying. 
Four rebels and three pro-government fighters died on the edge of Taiz and Lahj provinces in fighting for control of an area overlooking the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait, the officer said.
Fighting between the Houthi rebels and fighters loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has spiked on several fronts since UN-backed peace talks were suspended in early August. 
The Houthi movement has suffered major setbacks after the deaths of senior military commanders. 
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of Hadi’s government in March 2015, after the Houthis overran much of the country including the capital Sanaa.

Source: Arab News