Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president of Yemen, who was the country's longest-running head of state, is reportedly dead following bombings near his home in the capital city of Sana, according to the country's Interior Ministry, The New York Times reported — a development that threatens to ratchet up already-high tensions in the war-torn Gulf Coast nation.

The circumstances of his death are unclear, but a video recorded by Yemen Houthi rebels reportedly shows fighters picking up Saleh's body wrapped in a blanket and hoisting him onto a pickup truck. His head was badly injured, eyes were open and his shirt was blood-stained, the Associated Press reported .

A senior Yemeni government official associated with Houthis' rivals and some of Saleh's associates also confirmed his death on social media and TV interviews, according to AP. Abdel-Rahman al-Ahnomi, a top Houthi media official, told AP Saleh was killed while "trying to flee to Saudi [Arabia]."

Four days into violent fighting, at least 80 people have been killed, and famine continues to plague the country.