Hadi loyalists reverse Houthi gains in two Yemen towns-residents

ADEN, March 24 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi drove Houthi fighters from two towns they had seized hours earlier on Tuesday, residents said.

The northern-based Houthis had seized Kirsh, a town about 100 km (62 miles) north of Hadi's base in the southern port of Aden. But army units, tribesmen and militiamen pounded the fighters with rockets and heavy artillery, forcing them to withdraw northwards, military officials and residents said.

Hadi's forces also counter-attacked in Dhalea town, reversing the Houthis' first inroads into the territory of the formerly independent south. The town has for years been the centre of an armed movement to secede from the Yemeni capital Sanaa.