ADEN, Yemen, June 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 fighters of the Shiite Houthi group were killed in armed confrontations with government forces in Yemen's central province of al-Bayda on Tuesday, a military official told Xinhua.

The military source, who asked to remain anonymous, said the army soldiers aborted an infiltration attempt by Houthis in government-controlled area of Malagim in al-Bayda province, killing 12 rebels in the clashes.

The Media Center for the Saudi-backed Yemeni armed forces confirmed in a statement that "artillery shelling and airstrikes caused huge casualties among Houthi rebels in al-Bayda province."

However, the Houthi-affiliated media outlets reported that a large-scale military operation was launched against the government forces in al-Bayda province.

The Houthi military operation resulted in killing and injuring several "mercenaries" and seizing their weapons, according to the pro-Houthi media.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.