At least two Yemeni civilians were killed on Sunday in a bomb explosion near the local authority's building in the southwestern province of Taiz, a security official Said.

An improvised explosive device exploded on Gamal Street near the temporary local authority's building, the security source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast killed two civilians and wounded at least three others, including the local youth activist Bassem Mansour, he added.

The injured were transferred directly by ambulances to Rawdah National Hospital in Taiz for treatment, according to the source.

Local government sources confirmed that the security forces sealed off the blast site and started to search for other explosives at the scene.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing yet, although the Yemeni government believed "sabotage elements might be behind such attacks."

Extremist elements linked to the Islamic State militant group or the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch are active in the center of Taiz, which is controlled by the government forces.

The Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have been locked in clashes with the Iran-allied Houthi rebels in the north, east and west parts of Taiz Province since April 2015.

Yemen has been mired into a civil war since late 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

The civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

AFP.