A series of explosions rocked southern Yemen's port city of Aden on Wednesday after a short-circuit in an arms depot where old weapons were stored, an official said.
"The explosions were caused by a short-circuit. This started a fire in a depot at Jabal Hadid where old weapons were warehoused," said the official who did not wish to be identified. He said terrorism had been ruled out as the cause of the blasts.
"No one was killed or injured - the site of the blasts was isolated and far from residential areas," he added.
A witness said earlier that several explosions were heard "and plumes of smoke are rising from the Jabal Hadid area." Several fire trucks were seen heading in the direction of the flames.
Aden was the scene of the bombings of the US destroyer Cole in October 2000 when 17 American sailors were killed, and the French oil tanker Limburg two years later, killing one crew member.
Yemen is considered by the administration of US President George W. Bush to be "one of the most important partners in the war against terror", especially in tracking the movements of suspected Al-Qaeda members following the deadly attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.