At least 14 dead in Yemen blast

SANAA, Yemen (CNN) -- An explosion at a market in central Yemen has killed at least 14 people and injured more than a dozen others.

Walid al-Saqqaf, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Times, told CNN the explosion happened in a market in the city of al-Beidha, about 200 km (122 miles) southeast of Sana'a.

He said a truck loaded with flour and wheat, carrying dynamite underneath, pulled alongside a warehouse storing gunpowder. The truck caught fire, triggering a massive explosion, he said.

Yemen's news agency Saba quoted a security official as saying teams were still searching for those trapped under the rubble.

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One witness told Reuters the blast occurred in the early afternoon. He said the explosion also destroyed several warehouses and stores. "The blast was deafening and shook the whole city," he said.

Saba said the dynamite was being sold by a local trader for construction purposes. It said an investigation had been launched.

A spate of bombings rocked Yemen in 1998, most of them in the southern port city of Aden. Authorities at the time arrested a number of suspects, mainly from opposition groups, but later released them.

A suicide bombing in Aden last October killed 17 U.S. sailors aboard the destroyer USS Cole.