The nephew of Yemen's former president died in the same attack in which his uncle was killed at the weekend, it has emerged.

Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, a senior military commander for the Yemen government, died of wounds suffered during the attack by the Houthi rebel group in the country's capital, Sanaa, the General People's Congress party said.

Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, his uncle, died in the attack as he was allegedly attempting to flee the country, it was reported on Monday.

:: Yemen: The civil war and humanitarian crisis explained

Image: Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh (second from left) was killed in the attack

Ali Abdullah Saleh led the country for more than three decades, until the Arab Spring uprising in 2011 when he switched allegiance to the Houthi rebels side.


He had announced the end of his alliance with the Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday, which sparked warnings of retribution.

Mr Saleh and his nephew were travelling in an armoured vehicle when rebel fighters reportedly stopped it with an RPG rocket and shot the leader dead.

Image: Ali Abdullah Saleh ruled from 1990 to 2012

The former president's son called for revenge against the armed Houthi movement on Tuesday, hours before his cousin's death was also revealed and just before his father's funeral was to take place.

Ahmed Ali Saleh, who is in exile in the United Arab Emirates, was quoted by Saudi-owned al-Ekhbariya TV as saying: "I will lead the battle until the last Houthi is thrown out of Yemen.

"The blood of my father will be hell ringing in the ears of Iran."

He called for his father's supporters to "take back Yemen from the Iranian Houthi militias".

Hundreds of Houthi supporters took to the streets of rebel-held Sanaa on Monday and Tuesday to celebrate the killing of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Yemenis, many who have been on lock down in their homes for five days, are now waiting to see what happens next in the fragile Arabian Peninsula state.