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.