ADEN, Yemen, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's pro-government forces on Tuesday announced foiling two attacks launched by the Houthi rebels in the country's southern province of Dhalea, leaving 20 attackers killed.

The joint pro-government forces said in a statement posted online that "the Houthis launched two attacks and attempted to infiltrate into key military sites located near Qataba district in Dhalea's northern outskirts."

The military statement said that pro-government forces managed to thwart the Houthis infiltration attempts and repulse their armed attacks successfully.

The armed confrontations that continued for hours resulted in the killing of 20 Houthi fighters, including a senior rebel commander and wounding several others.

Elsewhere in Dhalea, the pro-government forces said also that a senior Houthi commander named as Abu Qasem Adel was captured along with 12 of his companions during armed confrontations near Qataba.

According to the military statement, the armed confrontations occurred after intercepting heavy Houthi reinforcements heading towards the frontlines in Dhalea.

The Houthi military authorities based in Sanaa made no comments regarding the pro-government reports of foiling the rebels attacks in Dhalea.

The pro-government Yemeni forces managed to make on-ground advancement and managed to expel the Houthi rebels out from several villages located in Dhalea during the past weeks.

In April, the Iranian-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of government forces and succeeded in seizing the district of Al Husha in the west of Dhalea.

The areas in the north and west of Dhalea, 138 km north of Aden, have been witnessing the non-stop fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for about four years.

Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after Houthi rebels revolted and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.