Senior members of Yemen's exiled administration flew into Aden on Thursday to make preparations for the government's return, an official said, three months after being pushed out by Houthi fighters.

The officials arrived after loyal militiamen, backed by airstrikes from a Saudi-led coalition, regained most of the southern port city from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Yemeni news website Aden al-Ghad reported.

Landing by helicopter at a military air base on Aden's western approaches, the group included the ministers of the interior and transport, the former interior minister, the intelligence chief, and the deputy head of the house of representatives.

The move follows several key setbacks for Yemen's Houthi group at the hands of Saudi-backed Yemeni fighters. Aden has been a main priority for the warring sides since Houthi fighters began laying siege to it in March.

The city had served as the power base of internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who has been living in Saudi Arabia since fleeing Houthi forces earlier this year. Hadi instructed his subordinates to ensure the restoration of stability to Aden so that state institutions can resume operations there, according to Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya.

A spokesman for the government, still exiled in Saudi Arabia, told the broadcaster that 90 percent of Aden, Yemen's second largest city, had been retaken from the mostly Shiite rebels.

Southern resistance fighters check the wreckage of a destroyed Boeing 747 plane at the international airport in Aden

"Hadi delegated this group to return to the city to work to prepare the security situation and ensure stability ahead of a revival of the institutions of state in Aden," one of the officials told Reuters.

Local fighters have wrested the city's airport and main seaport from the northern militia group in the past two days, in fighting that medics say has killed and wounded dozens.

In late March, Saudi Arabia and fellow Sunni partners started an air campaign in Yemen against the Houthis and allied military units after the rebel groups advanced on Aden and forced Hadi and his government to flee the country.

Earlier this week, the rebels, who now control large parts of the country, including the capital Sanaa, were dislodged from key positions in Aden, marking their biggest setback in months.

Aden has been devastated by fighting between Hadi's loyalists and the rebels during the past three months; more than 3,500 people have been killed in the airstrikes and fighting, according to the UN.

dr/msh (dpa, Reuters)