Sanaa, Oct 4 (IANS): At least eight people were injured after ballistic missiles fired by the Houthi militia struck Yemen's oil-rich province of Marb, causing huge explosions, a military official said.

The official told Xinhua news agency that a total of three missiles were fired which landed on the Al-Rawdah residential neighbourhood of the densely populated city of Marib.

Preliminary information indicated that nearly eight people including women and children were injured, in addition to damaging a number of residential houses, according to the official.

The local authorities in Marib reported earlier this week that the Houthi militia bombed the city with more than 300 ballistic and non-ballistic missiles during the past period, in addition to drones that targeted densely populated neighbourhoods.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.