ADEN: Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition mistakenly hit two civilian vehicles in the southwestern province of Taiz on Friday, killing at least 17 people, a medical official told Xinhua.

“The two vehicles were destroyed by the Saudi-led airstrikes and all the killed civilians were returning home from a village market in Mawza area of Taiz,” the local medical official said on condition of anonymity.

“Bodies of around 17 people were scattered at the bombing scene and no one could survive the missile attack,” the local source added.

Meanwhile, forces of the 4th Regional Military, allied with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, made progress and seized control over a number of areas in Rahidah district in Taiz.

“Several hours of ferocious fighting ended up in liberating key military sites and areas previously occupied by the Shiite Houthi rebels in Rahidah district,” a local military official said.

Elsewhere in Yemen, four brigades, trained and equipped by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), started a new military campaign against Houthis near the western port city of Hodeidah.

Elite troops of the Republican Guard, commanded by the nephew of the late former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, also participated in the ongoing military campaign and succeeded in seizing some areas from Houthis.

Saudi Arabia is leading a mostly Arab military coalition to fight Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since March 2015.

Houthis have been militarily controlling much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanna, since late 2014.

The war has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced over 3 million others, according to humanitarian agencies.