Gulf-backed Yemeni forces seize city from al Qaeda - source

Smoke rises from a government building in al-Houta, the provincial capital of Yemen's southern Lahej province March 21, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni forces backed by Apache helicopters from a Saudi-led coalition wrested the city of Houta from al Qaeda fighters after a gun battle on Friday morning, a local military official said.

Hours later, a car bomb detonated outside the foreign ministry in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, causing no casualties, another local official said. Islamic State claimed responsibility in a posting on its al-Amaq news agency website.