SANAA, May 3: Clashes erupted between Yemeni forces and rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Saturday, dealing a new blow to a faltering ceasefire a day after a mosque bombing killed 15 people in the northern city of Saada.

Government forces killed five rebels in Saada, while rebels surrounded a government compound in nearby Manbah, local sources said.

Hundreds of Yemenis demonstrated in Saada earlier in the day in show of anger against the attack that appeared to target army officers but killed a woman, two children and other civilians.

Yemen has witnessed attacks by different groups targeting everything from tourists to government offices in recent years, but attacks on mosques were virtually unheard of until on Friday.

A security source said several suspects had been detained at a checkpoint in Saada and investigations suggested that Houthi’s followers were behind the attack.

Houthi denies the charge but fighting has raged on and off in Saada since a conflict broke out in 2004 between government forces and the rebels he leads.

A Qatari-brokered truce ended six months of intense fighting in June but violence has increased in recent weeks as disagreements over the release of prisoners and handover of arms threaten to undermine the deal.

Friday’s bomb, which was hidden in a motorcycle outside the door of the Bin Salman Mosque and detonated as worshippers left, came as a Qatari delegation was meeting officials in Yemen to try to prevent a total collapse of the ceasefire.—Reuters