At least five Yemeni civilians were killed during a shelling carried out by the Houthi rebels in the country's southwestern province of Taiz on Friday, a government official said.

The local government source who asked to remain anonymous said that "the Houthi fighters fired a missile which struck a civilian vehicle in traveling in a densely populated neighborhood east of Taiz."

The Houthi-fired missile left around five civilians killed including women after destroying their vehicle in Taiz, the source said.

A number of other artillery shells fired by the Houthi rebels landed on the same residential neighborhood causing injuries among the civilians, according to the government source.

The city center of Taiz is currently under the control of the Yemeni government, while the outskirts of the city and areas in the countryside of the province are still witnessing armed confrontations between pro-government forces and the Houthi rebels.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.