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Key Yemen airbase 'recaptured' Yemen crisis: Houthi rebels 'driven from key al-Anad airbase'
(35 minutes later)
Pro-government troops in Yemen recapture key airbase near Aden after heavy clashes with Houthi rebels - spokesman Pro-government forces in Yemen have retaken the country's largest airbase in a battle with Houthi rebels, a spokesman for the forces told the BBC.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. Heavy casualties have been reported at al-Anad airbase, north of Aden, after intense fighting there in recent days.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. It comes after pro-government forces, backed by air strikes from a Saudi-led coalition, retook Aden in July.
The Saudis are leading a campaign to push the rebels back and restore the government, which it is sheltering.
Al-Anad used to be a base for US troops overseeing drone attacks on al-Qaeda.
It was overrun by Houthi rebels as they advanced south in March, forcing President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee.
"The al-Anad airbase is now back in the hands of President Hadi's men," Nasr Alkaid, a spokesman for the pro-government forces, told the BBC.
He said the loyalists were still battling rebels about 4km (2.5 miles) from the base.
The taking of the airbase could remove a key obstacle for government forces on the road to Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, where pro-Hadi militia have been clashing with rebels.
Pro-government troops have been helped by air cover and weapons provided by the Saudi-led coalition.
Sunni power Saudi Arabia regards the Houthis as proxies of Shia rival Iran. It alleges Iran has provided the Houthis with weapons, something Iran and the Houthis deny.
The rebels - backed by forces loyal to the former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh - say they are fighting against corruption and marginalisation of their northern powerbase by Mr Hadi's government.