Yemeni Popular Resistance forces retake Aden airport

Pro-government fighters in south Yemen seized Aden's airport on Tuesday as they launched a new offensive supported by Saudi-led warplanes and ships against Iran-backed militias, military sources said.

The fighters from the Popular Resistance also pushed back the Houthi militias and their allies from areas within the war-torn port city, the sources said.

Warships off the coast of Aden took part in the battle which a presidential official said was part of a new military campaign to regain control of all of the city.

Exiled President Abedrabbu Mansour Hadi is "personally supervising the operation" dubbed "Operation Golden Arrow for the Liberation of Aden," said his office director Mohammed Marem from Aden.

Soldiers of the 39th Armored Brigade had captured Aden's airport on March 25 after switching allegiance to the Houthi militias.

The Houthi militias and their allies have since gone on to seize the presidential palace and other parts of Aden, the second largest city in Yemen and its main sea port.

Retaking the airport of Aden is the first significant achievement for pro-Hadi fighters since the embattled president fled the port city late March due to an all-out rebel offensive.

The militias overran Sanaa in September unopposed and went on aided by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to expand their control to several regions.