Four children have been killed and more than 15 others wounded on Thursday when a mortar shell hit a camp for displaced people who fled the fighting between government troops and Shiite rebels in northern Yemen, local media reported Friday.

"A mortar shell, fired from unknown place, fell inside a crowded camp for displaced people in the city of Saada, the capital of Saada governorate," the News Yemen quoted local sources as saying.

The sources said "four children were killed and more than 15 others injured who were then rushed to al-Salam hospital in Saada city."

There was no immediate confirmation of the attack either from the government or the Houthi rebels.

In a separate incident, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said on Friday that its artillery had pounded insurgents, know as Houthis, in the troubled northern province of Saada during the past 72 hours.

The ministry's website, 26sep.net, reported that government troops have managed to get rid of insurgents in several areas of al-Malahiz region in Saada. The report which cited military sources said the military operation left many Houthi insurgents dead, including one leader identified as Mukbil Dwkam, known as Abu Ali.

The government troops, sources said, inflicted "heavy losses" against Houthi rebels, including destruction of their vehicles and weapons depots and arrested many of them.