A tank of the Yemeni forces loyal to the Saudi-backed exiled president is pictured during clashes with Houthi rebels outside the country’s third-city of Taez on April 6, 2017.

Saudi forces repelled an attack led by Houthis and militias allied to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday night. The militias attempted to head towards the Saudi port village of Tuwal.

Tuwal is a village in Jizan Province, in south-western Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border.

An Al Arabiya correspondent reported that “artillery fire from Saudi forces managed to destroy military vehicles belonging to the militias. Apache helicopters targeted the militants hiding behind sand barriers that they used to protect themselves.”

This resulted in the deaths of dozens of militias, in addition to the destruction of their military equipment, namely missiles and weapons that were in their possession.

Meanwhile, in the province of Dhahran – a city located in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province – a group of Houthi militias was killed after attempting to plot an attack on a Saudi surveillance center.

The coalition air force targeted them after being spotted by Saudi reconnaissance teams that were monitoring the Saudi-Yemeni border.