World Bulletin/News Desk

Militants affiliated with the Shiite Houthi movement on Monday kidnapped 30 members of northern Yemen's Sanaa Arhab tribe, tribal sources have said.

The source had said earlier that only 22 members of the tribe had been kidnapped.

Kidnapped persons included children, the sources said, adding that the captives had been taken to an unknown location.

The Anadolu Agency could not obtain immediate comment from the Houthi leadership regarding the tribesmen's claims.

Two Arhab tribesmen, meanwhile, were seriously injured when Houthi militants opened fire on them, according to tribal sources who alleged that the two men had been targeted for no apparent reason.

Monday's kidnapping of the 30 Arhab tribesmen came one day after two Houthi militants were killed in the same district by a roadside bomb, a tribal source had told AA earlier.

The Houthis have staged an aggressive campaign in the Arhab district in recent weeks on the pretext of fighting Al-Qaeda.

Last month, the Arhab tribe withdrew its fighters from flashpoint areas in the district to avoid possible clashes with Houthi militants.

Bombing hits house of Houthi leader in Sanaa

Meanwhile, at least six people were injured when an explosive device went off at a house of a senior Houthi leader in central Sanaa on Monday, security sources said.

According to the sources, three people inside the house of senior Houthi leader Nagi Mohieldin were injured in the blast while three passersby were wounded as they were outside the house at the time of the bombing.

It is yet unclear whether Mohieldin was at the house at the time of the bombing.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

For the last several months, the Shiite Houthi group – which boasts thousands of diehard supporters countrywide – has been trying to step up its armed presence across fractious Yemen.

The Houthis recently emerged as a political and military power in Yemen after taking over capital Sanaa in late September, from which they have sought to extend their influence into other provinces farther afield.

The Houthis' growing power has pitted the group against Sunni tribes and Al-Qaeda, the latter of which is said to still be active in certain parts of the country.