At least 25 civilians were killed after an air strike by Saudi-led coalition warplanes on a missile depot caused an explosion in the rebel-held Yemeni capital, state media says.

Yemen's state news agency Saba, run by the Houthi movement which controls the capital, said the bombing injured almost 400 people, "mostly women and children", citing a government official.

Scores of nearby houses and vehicles were destroyed after the raid on the scud base on Fajj Attan hill, south of Sana'a, witnesses said.

The base belongs to the missile brigade of the elite Republican Guard, which remains loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who has been accused of siding with Houthi rebels in their fight against the government.

Saudi Arabia has led an alliance of Sunni Arab countries in air strikes against the Iran-allied Shiite Houthi group and army units loyal to Mr Saleh.

The district the blast hit is home to the presidential palace and many embassies, and sent a thick pillar of smoke into the air.

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Resident Adel Mansour said it was the largest explosion in more than three weeks of bombing by the Saudi-led coalition.

"For the first time since the start of the bombing the windows of my house smashed," Mr Mansour said.

"My children are terrified and one of my relatives fainted because of the force of the blast."

An eyewitness at a hospital in the area said the emergency room was overwhelmed with victims, who screamed in pain from wounds sustained by the flying debris of their homes.

The campaign has repeatedly targeted the Faj Attan facility along with other military bases and airports in Sana'a and throughout the country.

The explosion also damaged the headquarters of a television station, Yemen Today, which is owned by ex-president Saleh, knocking its signal off air and wounding several people, employees told news agency Reuters.

Meanwhile, a Saudi border guard was killed and two troops wounded by heavy gun and mortar fire from Yemen on Sunday evening, the kingdom's interior ministry said.

Several members of Saudi Arabia's forces have been killed since the country and its Sunni Muslim Arab allies began a bombing campaign in Yemen last month.

Reuters/AFP