ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni government forces said Monday they had retaken the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha in southwestern Taiz province from the Houthi group in what would reverse a major recent Houthi gain near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

A military source was quoted by the state-run Saba news agency as saying that the Nation's Shield Forces, the pro-government Giants Brigades and the Tihama Resistance, backed by airstrikes, entered Mocha after fierce fighting on the city's outskirts.

The source said an unspecified number of Houthi fighters were killed, wounded or captured in the fighting, while others fled.

Government forces were carrying out clearing operations in the city and surrounding areas to secure their positions, the source added.

A Houthi military official on the ground told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that Saudi warplanes carried out scores of strikes on Houthi positions near Bab al-Mandab before government forces launched the offensive.

He estimated that more than 56 Houthi fighters were killed and dozens of others wounded.

However, a source on the ground disputed the government account, telling Xinhua that government forces had not taken control of Mocha or its port. The source described the announcement as a "premature" claim of victory and part of an escalating propaganda battle.

The Houthis seized Mocha in early September during a rapid advance that expanded their presence around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

If confirmed, the government's recapture of the port city would mark a significant shift in the battle on Yemen's southwestern coast.

Mocha lies on the Red Sea coast north of Bab al-Mandab, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden -- a critical artery for international shipping between Asia and Europe.

The fighting came amid a wider escalation across southwestern Yemen. The government said the advance was part of its "Operation Dawn of Yemen," a broader offensive aimed at retaking Houthi-held territory, including the capital Sanaa, with Saudi Arabia providing extensive air support.

Yemen's conflict broke out in late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country's north, forcing the internationally recognized government out of the capital. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the government. The recent clashes marked the sharpest escalation since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities in the war-torn country.