Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh along with several high-ranking officials were injured in the shelling hit Saleh's palace in capital of Sanaa on Friday, a security official told Xinhua.

Saleh was slightly injured while Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar, Deputy Prime Minister Rashid al-Alami, Parliament Speaker Yahya al-Raiee and several other senior officials were wounded by shells hit the walls of a small mosque inside the Presidential Palace while the president and officials were performing the Muslim weekly prayer in Sanaa on Friday, the security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He said the shells were fired by tribal gunmen inside a residential compound of opposition leader Hameed al-Ahmar, a brother of Sadiq al-Ahmar who led the two-week-long fierce street battles.

"The Republican Guards and special forces quickly responded with shelling at al-Ahmar's compound in Hadda district, a few miles from Saleh's palace," the official added.

However, Yemeni state-run television reported later that President Saleh has moved to a secure place and "is in good condition now." Eyewitnesses earlier said some bodies were taken out of the palace.

The fresh development came as two-week long fighting between government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to opposition leader Sadiq al-Ahmar spread to the north, west and south of Sanaa.

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