Yemeni presidential palace shelled

SANAA, Yemen, June 3 (UPI) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh suffered minor injuries Friday in the shelling of the presidential palace, government officials said.

Presidential spokesman Abdel al-Jandi said Saleh was in the palace mosque when it was hit, The New York Times reported. He did not elaborate on Saleh's injuries.

CNN reported he sustained slight injuries to his head and was expected to address the country later Friday.

Security forces said several state officials were killed with others injured in the rocket attack targeting the presidential mosque during Friday prayers, KUNA said.

Among those reported to have sustained severe injuries are two Yemeni lawmakers and the country's prime minister, Ali Mujawar.

Earlier, witnesses reported Yemeni troops fired on protesters demanding Saleh end his 30-year rule, injuring at least seven people.

Witnesses said armed tribesmen sided with protesters in street battles Thursday against Saleh's troops throughout Sanaa, the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported.

The president's elite forces were deployed to a government ministry held by tribal forces, the Defense Ministry said. Battles near the airport briefly grounded flights, officials said.

Saleh has backed away three times from signing a Gulf Cooperation Council-led agreement for him to step down, turning aside international pressure to resign, as well as the defection of ministers and military leaders.

Fighting has killed at least 135 people in the past 10 days in Sanaa, witnesses told Sky News. Street-fighting weaponry includes mortars, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.