Egypt has strongly denounced Friday's attack by a Houthi militia on a mosque in Marib province east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa which killed at least 26 people, the foreign ministry said.

In a statement late on Saturday, FM spokesman Ahmed Abou Zeid emphasised Cairo’s support to “Yemen’s legitimate government and the Yemeni people.”

Al-Azhar, the world's oldest seat of Sunni Islamic learning, also denounced the attack, saying that such crime is rejected by all religions, humanitarian norms and international laws that call for the protection of places of worship, according to a statement from the institution.

A military source loyal to the internationally recognised government of President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi said the attack targeted the mosque at Kofel camp during Friday weekly prayers, AFP reported.

The Yemeni civil war broke out in September 2014 when Houthi rebels, who are Shia, took over the capital Sanaa and overthrew the country's government.

The war has pit Hadi's government and the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis, who are allied with ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Pro-government forces have retaken large parts of Marib province from the Iran-backed Houthis since Saudi Arabia launched a coalition to intervene in support of Hadi in March 2015.

Egypt has been participating with naval and air forces in the Saudi-led military coalition since it was launched.

The Yemen war has killed more than 7,000 people, about half of them civilians. Al-Ahram