Yemen's Houthi rebels claim powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh killed

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday claimed powerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed.

However, there was no independent confirmation, but pictures circulated on social media appeared to show Saleh's body.

A video provided to AFP by the rebels showed what appeared to be a dead Saleh with a severe head injury, his body wrapped in a floral-print blanket. Armed men could be seen loading the body into the back of a pick-up truck in an empty, sandy lot.

Saleh's political party, the General People's Congress, confirmed the death of the 75-year-old, blaming the rebels.

Saleh, who ruled Yemen with an iron fist for three decades until 2012, had joined forces with the Shiite Huthi rebels three years ago when they took control of large parts of the Arabian Peninsula country including the capital Sanaa.

Saleh's supporters had been fighting alongside the Houthis in a war against Yemen's current President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

More than 8,670 people have been killed and 49,960 injured since a Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi intervened in the conflict in 2015, according to the UN.

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