Taiz (South24 Center)

At least four civilians were killed, including a child, and seven others injured, in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion on Jamal Street, one of the busiest streets in central Taiz city, northern Yemen, in an area controlled by forces aligned with the Yemeni government, according to medical and security sources on Thursday (December 18).

The sources added that an unidentified individual planted the device inside the remains of a battery and a solar panel before remotely detonating it during the morning hours, resulting in casualties, including women and children.

Emergency medical sources reported that a seven-year-old child who was on his way to school was among the fatalities. The seven injured individuals were transferred to different hospitals in the city. Their injuries were described as ranging between serious to moderate, due to shrapnel wounds.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion caused panic in the area and damaged a number of nearby shops and vehicles. Security forces imposed a cordon around the site of the incident and launched investigations to collect evidence.

The security authorities in Taiz have not yet issued an official statement clarifying the circumstances of the explosion or identifying the party responsible.

Later, the Islamist Islah Party in Taiz said in a brief statement that the explosion targeted its main headquarters located on Jamal Street, confirming that the attack was carried out using an IED, without providing further details. 

The statement said that three people were killed and 13 others injured.

Taiz city, where armed groups affiliated with the Islah Party are widely present, has witnessed recurrent bombings and assassinations for years amid deteriorating security conditions. The most recent was the assassination of the director of Taiz's Cleaning and Improvement Fund, Iftihan Al-Mashhary, last September.