SANAA: Yemeni armed forces carried out 71 targeted operations against Houthi gatherings, military positions and reinforcements across Taiz province, the forces said Saturday.

The operations targeted Houthi movements and military buildups in several areas of the province, destroying transport and support vehicles, killing and wounding militia members and disrupting the group’s ability to continue its operations, the forces said.

A Yemeni military commander in Jabal Han said Houthi forces had repeatedly attempted to infiltrate and seize the strategic mountain in an effort to besiege Taiz city.

“We broke the Houthi attempts to control Jabal Han in order to besiege the city of Taiz,” the commander told Al Arabiya English, adding that clashes continued throughout the night.

Yemeni warplanes also carried out airstrikes targeting Houthi positions and reinforcements on the Haifan and Rasen fronts south of Taiz.

The armed forces meanwhile took control of Samah Fort in southeastern Taiz following fierce clashes with the Houthis.

A military source told the Yemeni news agency Saba that armed forces, backed by popular resistance fighters from Samah district, had seized the fort after heavy fighting.

The operation resulted in dozens of Houthi fighters being killed or wounded, while others fled the area, the source said.

Separately, Yemeni armed forces warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Sanaa.

The armed forces’ official spokesperson, Col. Majed Al-Nazili, said the forces had struck targets in the capital and had the capability to carry out strategic attacks against the Houthis.

Heavy explosions were reported in Sanaa following the strikes.

Eyewitnesses said about six airstrikes targeted Jabal Al-Nahdain, overlooking the presidential palace, and Jabal Attan south of Sanaa, with columns of smoke rising from the targeted sites.

Warplanes continued to fly heavily over the capital, the witnesses said.

Also on Saturday, the armed forces said they had carried out 257 precision operations against Houthi positions, movements and military capabilities using aircraft, drones, artillery, missiles and rocket launchers.

The operations focused particularly on the Taiz fronts and resulted in the killing or wounding of at least 700 Houthi fighters and the destruction of 170 combat vehicles and other military mechanisms, according to initial field estimates.