An explosive device went off at an office of the Shiite Houthi group in western Sanaa early on Monday, wounding two people and damaging nearby houses, a police official told Xinhua.

The explosion left two Houthi followers seriously wounded in their legs, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Local residents said Houthi fighters hurried to the area and sealed it off.

The blast is the fifth bombing attack in less than a month on the Shiite Houthi group, known locally as Ansarullah, since it advanced to the country's central regions after controlling Sanaa in late September.

The Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, has conducted recently several bomb attacks on the Houthi group, killing scores of people.

On Sunday, a bomb attack targeted its local headquarters in Dhamar province, some 100 km south of the Yemeni capital, killing four people and injuring 25 others.

Last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shiite Houthi religious ceremony in the southern province of Ibb, killing 33 Houthi followers and injuring dozens.

On Dec. 16, a car bombing attack against a Houthi office in the province of al-Bayda killed 40 people including 20 children. Two days later, a suicide car bombing attack in the western port city of al-Hodayda, left 18 dead, most of whom are Houthi followers.

Fierce fightings between the group and the AQAP in the central and southern regions have forced hundreds of people to flee to neighboring provinces.

So far, the Houthi group has clashed with the AQAP several times in the provinces of Marib, al-Bayda, Ibb and Hadramout, leaving dozens dead from both sides.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country has been gripped by regional al-Qaida insurgency since 2009. Terrorist groups, mainly based in southern and eastern provinces, have launched frequent suicide attacks on army and security targets, leaving hundreds of people dead. Endi

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