ADEN, Yemen - Yemeni security forces rescued 177 African migrants, including dozens of women, from a human trafficking ring in the Bab al-Mandab area along Yemen's Red Sea coast on Monday, a security source told Xinhua.

Government forces freed the migrants -- mostly Ethiopians -- from a smuggling network operating in the coastal district of Dhubab in Taiz province, some 256 km southwest of Sanaa, said the security source, who requested anonymity.

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The rescue was part of a broad security operation stretching from Bab al-Mandab in Taiz to the coastal Ras al-Arah area in neighboring Lahj province, the source added.

According to the source, smuggling networks involving both African and Yemeni traffickers are active along Yemen's western coastline. These gangs often abduct irregular migrants arriving by boat and detain them in privately run compounds, where they are exploited.

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The Yemeni news outlet 2 December News Agency later confirmed the security operation as part of an ongoing campaign to combat human trafficking.

Brigadier General Mujahid al-Hazoura, commander of the western coastal security sector, said that "the operation targeted hideouts and detention sites used by smugglers in various parts of Dhubab and successfully freed 123 men and 54 women."