The army units backed by local tribesmen set up a well-planned ambush and targeted the Houthi militia near Jubah district in southern Marib," Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Defence as saying.

The ambush killed 40 Houthi rebels and injured several others in the area that was witnessing non-stop armed confrontations between the two warring sides, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Houthis-affiliated Masirah television network reported that the Saudi-led coalition carried out at least 39 airstrikes on areas of Marib during the past hours.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.