ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni government forces said Tuesday that at least 14 Houthi members were killed and 19 others wounded in artillery and drone strikes in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, hours after the country's leadership approved further measures to counter the group's escalating military operations.
The pro-government National Resistance Forces said in a statement that its "concentrated" strikes targeted key Houthi positions south of Hodeidah, including command and control centers.
The Houthis have yet to comment on the strikes or the reported casualties.
Earlier on Tuesday, Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) approved further "deterrent" measures against the Houthis as fighting between the two sides continues to intensify across several fronts.
At a meeting chaired by PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi in the Saudi capital Riyadh, the council reviewed military, security and economic developments and discussed options for confronting the Houthi escalation, according to the state-run Saba news agency.
Fighting between government forces and the Houthis has intensified across several fronts in recent weeks. The government forces stepped up drone and artillery strikes on Houthi positions, while the group launched missile and drone attacks on government-held areas in Marib and along the western Red Sea coast.
The escalation has also extended beyond Yemen's battlefields. Since announcing a ban on Saudi-linked maritime traffic on July 20, the Houthis have claimed a series of attacks on Saudi-linked vessels and targets inside the kingdom.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. ■
