Bomb defused at President Hadi's office in Yemeni capital

A bomb was defused outside the president’s office in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday.

A suspect accused of planting the improvised explosive device was arrested shortly after the bomb was defused.

The office is located two streets away from the Presidential Palace in an upscale neighbourhood in the south of the city.

A security source told Yemeni news site Erem News that “an IED was put inside a bag, then placed the bag in front of the president’s office".

“Soldiers guarding the office noticed the bag and discovered the IED inside; they then arrested an individual suspected of planting it," Erem News reported.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of the office of President Hadi, whose rule has recently been rocked by an armed uprising led by Houthi militants from the country’s northern mountains.

The centre of Sana’a was earlier rocked by five separate explosions on Monday morning, leaving eight Houthi supporters injured. The bombings targeted checkpoints run by the rebel militias throughout the city, according to a security official who spoke to Anadolu Agency.

"Eight people were injured when five explosive charges went off, targeting Houthi checkpoints in the Shaoub area of central Sanaa," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Another blast hit the house of a known Houthi supporter, destroying cars in the street outside and twisting the home's metal door off its hinges.

Two of the wounded are in critical condition in hospital.

Houthi militants, who took control of the capital in September after setting up protest camps there, recently reached a peace deal with long-time foes the Islah party, the Muslim Brotherhood affiliate in Yemen.

However, the Houthis remain locked in a bloody war with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group that used to have de facto control of large parts of central Yemen before a government crackdown launched in May shrank their sphere of influence.