Al-Qaeda kills 20 Houthi militants in Yemen clashes

At least 20 Houthi militants have been killed by al-Qaeda forces in fresh clashes for control over parts of central Yemen, tribal sources said on Monday.

Houthi forces have been battling al-Qaeda militants and tribesmen as they seek to expand their territory after seizing the capital Sanaa in September and the Red Sea port city of Hudeida earlier this month. 

Fighting erupted overnight as Sunday turned to Monday in the central town of Rada, where Houthi forces have been attempting to expand their area of influence.

The Houthi fighters were killed by a car bomb and in subsequent clashes. According to a tribal and security source, al-Qaeda gunmen also captured 12 rebels.

The al-Qaeda forces also attacked rebel positions northeast of Rada and along a road connecting the town in Baida province to neighboring Dhamar, a province seized last week by Houthi militants. 

Unstable

The Houthis have capitalised on chronic instability in Yemen since the 2012 ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to take control of large part of the country.

The weak central government of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, Saleh's successor, has failed to stop the militants, despite a UN-brokered deal that was supposed to see the Houthis withdraw from the capital.

Houthis captured Sanaa on September 21 after weeks of anti-government protests focusing on fuel price rises. The group claims to champion the interests of the Shia Zaydi community, which makes up a fifth of Yemen's 25 million-strong population.