Sanaa, Jul 31 (IANS): At least three people were killed in a landmine explosion in Yemen's southern province of Lahj, a government official said.

The official told Xinhua news agency that the victims were riding motorbikes which struck the landmine, planted by Houthi rebels, triggering the explosion.

The incident in Qubaita village took place while the three were returning from Friday prayers at a nearby mosque, the official added.

The government's bomb disposal squads have dismantled and destroyed thousands of mines and explosive devices during the past years in the war-ravaged country.

Previous reports of humanitarian organisations suggested that Yemen has become one of the largest landmine battlefields since the World War II.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern Yemeni provinces and forced the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.