ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A large explosion targeted a security patrol in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Monday evening, a government official told Xinhua.

The explosion, caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), struck a security patrol in Aden's neighborhood of Mansourah, damaging the vehicle at the scene, the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

He confirmed that there have been no immediate reports of casualties among the security personnel.

Witnesses said that additional security soldiers have arrived at the scene and began investigating the incident.

Local authorities are trying to maintain security in the strategic Yemeni port city considered as the country's temporary capital.

However, sporadic bombing incidents and drive-by shooting attacks still occur in Aden, where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has been based since 2015.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The six-year-old war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million and pushed Yemen to the brink of starvation. Enditem

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