Arab coalition forces, waging a military campaign against Houthi fighters in Yemen, have confirmed the capture of an Iranian boat carrying arms near Oman’s Salalah coast.

About 14 sailors on board the ship have also been arrested, said media report.

According to a report in Al Arabiya, the boat was inspected and seized on Saturday.

The report says, “A number of rockets and missiles were found on board. Those included 18 Concourse shell, 54 anti-tank missiles and 15 battery kits designed for military projectiles, weapons guidance systems, among other arms.”

The announcement from Arab coalition comes a day after tribal fighters backed by the coalition won control of a strategic dam in central Yemen from Houthi forces following weeks of fighting in the area east of the capital Sanaa.

The coalition, which also includes Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt and the UAE, has been battling the Iranian-backed Houthis for more than six months, trying to shore up President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government and contain what the Gulf Arab states see growing Tehran's influence in their backyard.

As part of the campaign, Saudi-led naval forces have imposed a near-blockade to prevent weapons supplies from reaching the Houthis, resulting in long delays and mandatory searches for shippers in the region.

The coalition has long accused Iran of arming the Houthis, who seized control of the country starting in September last year, claiming they were out to fight corruption and to force Hadi to bring them into the government.

The seizure of the Marib dam is the biggest success of Yemeni militia men fighting alongside Gulf troops in several weeks.

Together they have undertaken an armed push toward the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa 110 km west of the dam, but progress has been slowed by landmines and stiff resistance from Houthi forces ensconced in rugged mountains.

Pictures printed on the front pages of Gulf dailies showed the foreign troops and local tribesmen planting the flags of the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia over the dam.

Six months of civil war and hundreds of coalition air strikes have killed more than 5,400 people in Yemen, according to the United Nations, and exacerbated already widespread hunger and suffering.

The coalition on Wednesday again denied responsibility for an air strike on a wedding party in Taiz province two days earlier which medics said killed 131 people, in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the war.

"No air strikes were launched in that area in the past three days ... it's not true that every explosion that happens in Yemen is caused by the coalition," alliance spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said in comments carried by the UAE's state news agency WAM.

Residents in the village of al-Wahijah said that two missiles blasted through tents where a local man affiliated with the Houthi group was holding his wedding reception.-Reuters