SANAA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Yemen's parliament on Saturday voted for the government to take military action against Shi'ite Muslim rebels who have killed dozens of soldiers in recent clashes, parliament members said.

The vote, held in a closed parliament session, was expected to give a stronger hand to the government in tackling the rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, brother of anti-American cleric Hussein al-Houthi who was killed in 2004.

MPs said some opposition members joined the majority GPC party of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in advocating action against the rebels, who are also accused of preaching violence against the United States.

Some nationalists, Socialists and Islamists, whose parties had earlier helped in mediation efforts, have criticised the government for planning tough action against the rebels it accuses of wanting to install Shi'ite religious rule in the country.

Sunni Muslims make up most of Yemen's 19 million population, while Shi'ite Muslims are estimated at about 15 percent.

"A wide majority approved a proposal to ask the government to use the necessary military means to resolve the problem with Houthi's followers," said an MP, who declined to be identified.

Yemen said on Monday at least 42 soldiers had been killed and 81 wounded in over a week of sporadic clashes with the rebels. Saleh warned the rebels after the latest violence, which began late last month, to surrender their weapons or face a showdown.

Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the United States. Houthi's supporters are not linked to al Qaeda.

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