ADEN, Yemen, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Three members of Yemen's Houthi rebel group were killed Wednesday in a naval operation by the pro-government Yemeni naval forces in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a Yemeni military official told Xinhua.

"A unit of the fifth naval zone carried out a successful operation deep in the Houthi-controlled areas in the northern parts of Hodeidah," the official said on condition of anonymity.

He said that the operation resulted in the killing of three Houthi members as well as seizing a boat along with its driver.

Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed Houthis accused the pro-government forces of launching shelling attacks against their locations in the southeastern part of Hodeidah.

The Houthis-affiliated Masirah TV reported that the forces loyal to the Saudi Arabian-backed Yemeni government forces fired around 25 mortar shells on the Hays district.

Other shells fired by the government forces landed on the farms in south of Hodeidah, the report said.

In October, the United Nations started deploying cease-fire observers in Hodeidah, establishing five observation posts near the military lines between the two warring parties.

The posts are manned by liaison officers from both parties in accordance with the cease-fire agreement reached last year in Sweden that also called on both warring sides to move forces away from the ports and parts of the strategic city.

However, sporadic exchange of gunfire and artillery shelling have continued to rock the port city despite the presence of the cease-fire observers. Enditem

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