The Yemeni government forces killed seven rebels in clashes in the north of the country on Saturday, local media reported.

With the support of airplanes, the government troops occupied a secret camp and ammunition depot of the armed rebels in a mountainous area in the Saada province, about 300 km north of Sanaa.

The authorities seized a huge number of guns and ammunition, including over 7,000 rifles, the reports said. They did not reveal the casualties of the government forces.

An official of the Yemeni Interior Ministry said the dead were followers of slain Shiite cleric Hussein al-Houthi who had been preaching violence against the United States and Israel.

After al-Houthi was killed in the Shiite-dominated north in 2004, his supporters turned to Al-Houthi's father, Badruddin al-Houthi.

The government of Yemen has been clamping down on the rebels since Sanaa allied itself with the United States in the war against terrorism. Hundreds of rebels and nearly 100 government soldiers have been killed in the fighting.

Last September, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced an amnesty for al-Houthi loyalists.

Source: Xinhua