Houthi militias and forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh pounded fuel depots of a petroleum company in Dhabab district in Yemen's southwestern Taiz province.

The explosion took place as a result of shelling establishments of Sad Al Jabalain petroleum area, local sources told Al Masdar Online.

Flames could be seen from miles away.

Yemen has been engulfed in heavy fighting since March, when Saudi Arabia intervened in a bid to restore legitimacy of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi after he was forced to flee the country when Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and then the main city of Aden.