Five bombs have exploded in Sanaa's old quarter, where many supporters of the Shia Houthi group live, killing at least one person and wounding another, according to a Yemeni security official.

No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks.

Witnesses said the blasts occurred early in the morning at a time when only a few people were on the streets.

One of the bombs exploded when a member of the Houthi armed group tried to dismantle it, residents said.

Several houses and some cars were damaged by the explosions.

Brigadier-General Abdul Razzak Al-Moayyad, director-general of police in Sanaa, told Al Jazeera one of the explosive devices had been placed close to the home of Ismail Al-Wazir, a law professor at Sanaa University, who had previously been targeted.

An attempt was made on Wazir's life in April when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle, killing two of his security guards.

Yemen has been in turmoil since mass protests in 2011 forced long-ruling President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

But tensions have increased after the Houthi takeover of Sanaa in September.

PHOTO CAPTION

People gather at the site of a bomb explosion in Sanaa December 23, 2014

Al-Jazeera