10 Wounded as Yemen Police, Shiite Rebels Clash

A group of armed Shiite Zaidi rebels on Sunday attacked the headquarters of Yemen's national security services in Sanaa, triggering clashes that left 10 people wounded, a security official said.

"Ten people have been wounded from both sides," the official said, adding that the local police responded when rebels attacked the headquarters with automatic weapons.

The armed men were among a crowd of about 500 Zaidis who staged a protest outside security headquarters to demand the release of some members of their community, he said.

He said some of those being held by the authorities are "suspected of (sharing) intelligence with Iran".

The Zaidi rebels, also known as Huthis after their leader Abdel Malek al-Huthi, had rebelled in 2004 against the government of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, accusing it of marginalizing them politically and economically.

Fighting between them and Yemeni forces killed thousands of people before a ceasefire was reached in February 2010.

The Zaidis are participating in the ongoing national dialogue launched in March to discuss the impoverished country's main problems, including the issue of Huthi rebellion.

The Zaidis belong to an offshoot of Shiite Islam and are a minority in Sunni Yemen.