Yemeni government and popular resistance forces thwarted an attack on the western front of Taiz by Houthis and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday, killing six of them, said a spokesman for the Taiz command.

Colonel Mansour al Hasani said the Yemeni forces launched a counter-attack, seizing many of Houthis' positions.

The Yemeni forces, Hasani said, are now hunting down the rest of fleeing militias.

On Wednesday, the Yemeni forces foiled an attempt by Houthis to advance to east of Taiz.

Houthi fighters and government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition are battling for control of Taiz, the country's third largest city with an estimated pre-war population of 300,000.

The coalition has been fighting Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who hold much of the north of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, since March 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

Source: MENA