"An explosion caused by adevice hit a civilian vehicle traveling along the main road in Al Khawkhah district, south of Hodeidah," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

Four members of a family died immediately in the explosion that destroyed their vehicle, the source added.

A spokesman for a local field hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of four victims and two injured women.

"The dead civilians include a man, his wife and two of their children, one of whom was a 10-day-old baby," sources said.

Yemen's government forces have accused the Iran-backed Houthi rebels of being behind the bombing.

As the main Yemeni port city along the coast of the Red Sea, Hodeidah is the key lifeline entry of most Yemen's commercial imports and humanitarian aid.

The Iran-allied Houthi rebels control much of Hodeidah while the Saudi-backed government troops have advanced on the southeastern districts of the strategic port city.