6 women killed in Yemen's Houthi shelling on Taiz prison

At least six women were killed and 28 other female prisoners wounded on Sunday in artillery shelling from Houthi militia on a prison in Yemen's embattled city of Taiz, said Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Iryani.

"We strongly condemn the hideous terrorist massacre committed by Houthis militia by bombing ... the central prison in Taiz with eight shells, which killed according to initial report six women, as well as a child who was visiting her mother, and wounded 28 others," Iryani said on Twitter.

Residents and medics said the shelling came from the 50th Street on the outskirts of Taiz, where the Houthi fighters are stationed.

The central prison is located in al-Dhabab area in southern Taiz city.

Taiz, the country's third largest city, is under control of the government, while its surrounding mountainous outskirts are under control of the Houthi group.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.