Four security guards were killed Saturday when Shiite Houthi militants attacked the headquarters of a political party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Yemen's central Ibb province, a local official has said.

"Houthi militants bombed the Al-Islah Party HQ in Ibb after clashes with security guards that left four of them dead," the official, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.

The militants also blew up a medical center near the party headquarters, the official said.

According to the official, mediators had tried to provide a safe exit for rest of the security personnel in the bombed-out party headquarters.

"However, the militants kidnapped 25 people from inside the building and moved them to an undisclosed location," the official said.

The Houthis have remained in control of capital Sanaa since September 21, when they inked a deal with Yemen's presidency aimed at ending an ongoing political stalemate.

Since then, the Shiite group has sought to extend its control to other parts of the country.

Yemen has been dogged by political turmoil since a popular uprising that erupted in 2011 toppled longstanding president Ali Abdullah Saleh one year later.

PHOTO CAPTION

Protesters demonstrate against Shiite militancy and violence in Sanaa October 21, 2014

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