Yemen's Huthi rebels have seized control of a strategic town north of the capital, government officials said Sunday, in what analysts say could change the course of the five-year-old war. The Iran-aligned militia captured Al-Hazm, capital of the northern province of Al-Jawf, enabling the rebels to pose a threat to neighbouring oil-rich Marib province, a government military official told AFP.

Al-Jawf has been mostly controlled by the Huthis, but its capital - only 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the border with Saudi Arabia - had been in the hands of the government. Yemen's internationally-recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, has been battling the Huthi rebels since 2014 after they captured the capital Sanaa and swathes of the impoverished Arab nation. "The Huthi rebels have taken control of Al-Hazm, the regional capital of Al-Jawf, after fierce fighting with government troops who were forced to withdraw to neighbouring Marib province," the official said.