Yemen: Ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh killed

Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed by Houthi rebels near the capital, Sanaa, a development expected to have major implicationsfor the war in the Arab world's poorest country.

The death was first announced on Monday by the Sanaa-based interior ministry, controlled by Saleh's allies-turned-foes, the Houthi rebel movement.

His killing was later confirmed to Al Jazeera by Saleh's political party, the General People's Congress (GPC).

Footage circulating on social media appeared to display a body resembling Saleh, with one video showing how armed militiamen used a blanket to move the corpse into the back of a pick-up truck.

There were earlier reports that the Houthis blew up one of Saleh's houses, after storming the property. Houthi sources said Saleh was killed by the rebels in a rocket-propelled grenade and shooting attack on his car at a checkpoint outside Sanaa.

Yasser al-Awadi, the GPC's assistant secretary-general, was also killed.

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