Yemeni government forces recaptured a strategic position from the Houthis on Friday as intense clashes raged across several fronts west of the southwestern city of Taiz, state-run Saba TV reported.

The army regained control of Tabbat al-Khazan in the Jabal Habashi district following heavy clashes with Houthi forces, according to the broadcaster.

The development came as fighting intensified on the Maqbanah and Al-Kadha fronts west of Taiz.

A military source told Saba TV that government forces shot down a Houthi drone on the Maqbanah front and disabled a military vehicle belonging to the group.

The source said clashes were still ongoing, with government forces continuing to advance and inflict casualties and equipment losses on Houthi forces.

Military sources also reported the arrival of reinforcements as part of operations aimed at countering Houthi attacks and movements on the western Taiz fronts.

The Houthi group has not immediately commented on the claims.

The latest fighting follows clashes Thursday in which Yemeni army said 50 members of the Houthi group were killed or injured after they thwarted an attack aimed at seizing control of a road linking the cities of Taiz and Mocha in western Yemen.

The Taiz front saw a military escalation Thursday, including attacks involving ballistic missiles and drones as well as ground clashes in Al-Kadhah, Maqbanah and Mawza districts in the western part of the province.

The escalation is among the most significant rounds of fighting in Taiz since a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022, amid U.N. warnings over the risk of Yemen sliding back into a wider conflict.

The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and other cities since September 2014, while the internationally recognized government and allied forces control large areas in the south, east and west of the country.