Five Yemeni soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in Monday (April 23rd) clashes with extremists in Taez, after unidentified gunmen on Saturday killed an aid worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), AFP reported.
It was unknown if there were any casualties among the extremists.
Fighting in the city's Jahmaliah district came after the governor of Taez, who is loyal to President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, launched an operation against extremists he suspected were behind the murder of the ICRC employee.
Jahmaliah is controlled by Yemeni forces, but there is an extremist presence in the area, a police officer told AFP.
A large portion of Taez is held by the Yemeni forces and their allies, but the entrances to the city are controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah).
Fierce clashes broke out after the operation was launched on Monday morning.
On Sunday, Taez governor Amin Ahmad Mahmud created a special force of police and army units tasked with battling extremists he believes shot the ICRC employee, a Lebanese aid worker, named as Hanna Lahoud.
