At least four people were killed and 10 others injured when an IS-claimed car bombing targeted a gathering of the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen's central province of al-Bayda on Tuesday, a security official told Xinhua.

The suicide attacker slammed his explosives-laden truck into an exhibition displaying photos of killed pro-Houthi fighters in the town of Radaa in al-Bayda province, causing casualties, the security source said on condition of anonymity.

The soldiers tasked with guarding and protecting the photos exhibition opened fire and detonated the car bomb before it reached its target, the source said.

Medical sources in the area confirmed to Xinhua that at least four people were killed and nearly 10 others injured at the scene.

The Yemen-based affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in the Houthi-controlled town of Radaa.

In a statement posted via its accounts in Twitter, IS-Yemen branch said Tuesday's attacker, who it identified as Abdullah Madhari, detonated his explosives-laden vehicle amid a gathering of Houthis in the Ahmadi club.

The jihadist group didn't mention further details about the death toll caused by the terrorist operation.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known locally as "Ansar al-Sharia," emerged in January 2009, claiming responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and governmental institutions.

The AQAP and the IS-linked terrorists took advantage of the security vacuum and ongoing civil war to expand their influence and seize more territories in southern Yemen.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Over 10,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, many of them civilians.

source: Xinhua