A car bomb has exploded outside a police college in Yemen's capital Sanaa, killing at least 38 people, police sources and residents in the area have said.

A police source said on Wednesday that a dozen others were wounded in the explosion that targeted a centre of Houthi fighters near the police academy officers’ club.

The blast was heard across the city and a large plume of smoke was visible in the area of the college.

Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh, reporting from Sanaa, said the pictures coming out from the scene suggest the number of casualties is likely to rise.





registration at police academy #sanaa #yemen suspended for a week following car bomb. — Omar Al Saleh (@AJEOmar) January 7, 2015

death toll from #sanaa #yemen car bomb has risen to 26 killed. over 40 wounded .. death toll could rise further — Omar Al Saleh (@AJEOmar) January 7, 2015

Photographs purporting to be of the aftermath of the explosion, distributed on Twitter, showed the mangled wreckage of a vehicle and bloodied people lying prone on a pavement, but the pictures could not be immediately verified.

No one has claimed responsibility.

Security in Yemen has diminished since a 2011 popular uprising that led to a change of government and splits in the army. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the movement's most active wings, has staged a growing number of bombings and shootings across the country.