Rebels say repulse army attack in north Yemen

* Rebels say hold off government attack

* Government says takes valley in fierce fight

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni rebels said on Wednesday they had held off an attack by government forces in a northern province that has seen heavy fighting in recent days.

A statement from the rebels of a Shi'ite sect in the Arabian Peninsula nation said the army had failed to advance in the Haraf Sufyan district, where government sources reported more than 100 rebels killed on Sunday as battles intensified.

"The authorities made failed attempts to advance in Haraf Sufyan in Amran province and al-Minzala in Saada province. They retreated in failure after one (tank) was destroyed in Haraf Sufyan," a statement sent to Reuters said.

A government source denied the claim, saying the army had taken a valley after losses on both sides in fierce fighting.

"The main road connecting Saada to the capital (Sanaa) is still closed to supplies and military reinforcements because of mines and the gang warfare of the Houthis," he said. The rebels in the north of the country are headed by members of the Houthi tribe.

The rebels are adherents of the Zaydi branch of Shi'ite Islam, a tribal minority in mostly Sunni Muslim Yemen. The recent fighting broke a ceasefire after the rebellion began in 2004.

Yemen, an impoverished state of some 23 million people on the tip of the peninsula, also is battling al Qaeda militants and secessionist discontent in the south.

(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; writing by Michael Roddy)