The battles between the Yemeni forces and the Houthi militants intensified in Yemen's province of Dhali on Thursday, local sources said.
The battles took place in the districts of Damt and Morais at a time when the Houthi militants are seeking to retake southern regions from the government.
The sources said around 11 fighters, mostly Houthis, were killed in the battles.
Other Houthis were killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in the province, they added.
Dhali was the first southern province to be retaken from the Houthis in May.
The national forces with support from the coalition drove the militants out of southern regions in June and July paving the way for the return of the government in September after a six-month exile in Saudi Arabia.
The government has since acting from Aden.
Lately, the militants launched battles the national forces in Lahj, Shabwa and Dhali in an attempt to come back to the south coinciding with raging battles in middle and southwestern provinces including Taiz.
In Taiz, local sources within the popular resistance said 8 Houthis were killed in an ambush in the mountain of Sabir Thursday.
Battles in key Taiz areas are continuing, the sources said, adding that the Houthis continued to pound populated areas with rockets.
The coalition, which has been bombing the Houthis since March, conducted fresh airstrikes in the provinces of Saada and Hajjah,