SANAA — At least 60 people were killed in Yemen as clashes raged between Houthi rebels and Al-Qaeda militants.



A suicide bomber killed 15 people on Monday, including children, when he detonated his explosives-laden car near a rebel checkpoint in the town of Rada, south of Sanaa, witnesses and a tribal source said.



It came after heavy fighting erupted overnight in Rada, a mixed Sunni-Shiite area that has been the scene of frequent clashes.



Twenty rebels were killed in another car bombing that targeted a building where they had gathered and in subsequent clashes, tribal and security sources told AFP, adding that 12 rebels were also captured by Al-Qaeda militants.



The town was rocked by powerful explosions, with rocket-propelled grenades and artillery used by both sides in several hours of clashes, security officials said.



Ten more rebels were killed during clashes Monday in the Anas district of Dhamar, a Shiite-populated province taken last week by the rebels, said medics and tribal sources.



Meanwhile, 15 fighters from Al-Qaeda and tribesmen were killed in the Rada clashes, tribal sources said.



Al-Qaeda militants also attacked rebel positions northeast of Rada and along a road connecting the town in Baida province to neighboring Dhamar.



Fighters backed by tribesmen also recaptured the town of Udain, in southwestern Ibb province, which they had briefly overran last week in response to the rebels advance, a tribal source said.



They then moved towards nearby Ibb city, triggering heavy clashes late Monday with the rebels.



The rebels faced no resistance when they took control of Sanaa last month and have refused to leave despite appearing to agree to the naming of a new prime minister under the UN deal. They have since moved south and easily captured Dhamar but have faced heavy fighting in Sunni-majority Ibb province and from Al-Qaeda in Baida province.



On Sunday, negotiations hosted by provincial governor Yehya al-Iryani to convince all fighters to withdraw from Ibb city “failed,” a mediator told AFP.



“The Houthis insisted on deploying their fighters alongside security forces in Ibb... to fight Al-Qaeda and prevent it from taking over the province.” — AFP