SANAA, May 31 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed and 10 wounded when an artillery shell hit a petrol station in the north of Yemen where government forces have been battling Shi'ite rebels since January, residents said on Thursday.
A source close to the government said the shell might have been fired by the rebels.
"The blast is believed to be the result of a shell like the type used by the rebels. It fell on a petrol station leading to an explosion on Wednesday," said a local source close to the government. He said all those killed and wounded were civilians.
But a tribal source said the army could have fired the shell at the petrol station in the town of Sehar "by mistake".
A source close to the rebels said he had no information on the incident. The rebels oppose Yemen's close alliance with the United States. Yemeni officials say the group wants to reinstall the Islamic rule that was overthrown in 1962.
A government source said about 80 soldiers and 60 rebels had been killed in the battles over the past two weeks. Sources close to the rebels did not have figures.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes due to the heavy clashes.
Sporadic but fierce fighting between the rebels, led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and the state forces erupted last year after the group attacked government installations in the northern province of Saada, triggering a security crackdown.
Yemen, the ancestral homeland of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, joined the U.S.-led war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. cities. The rebels are not linked to al Qaeda.
