Supported by the Arab alliance forces, the Yemeni army made great strides against the Houthi militias and pro-Saleh troops stationed in the southern parts of Ibn Abdullah valley, north west of the Yemeni city of Haradh. A Yemeni military source said the advance reached crowned fierce battles between the Yemeni army and the Houthi militias and pro-Saleh troops, noting that the skirmishes flared up last Thursday, resulting in the killing and injury of a big number of the enemy who fled away as the Yemeni army was advancing. On the other hand, units of the Yemeni army foiled a surprise attack launched by Houthi militias in Al-Joaf province in an attempt to weaken the grip of the army in Khabb and Shaaf directorate in the northern parts of the province. In a statement carried by 26 September website, a media affiliate of the Yemeni armed forces, a military source was quoted as saying that the Yemeni army was able to defeat the militias and force them to flee at large.