Eight people were killed and 13 others were injured Wednesday night in an armed attack on a wedding in Yemen's southwestern Ibb province, a local official told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that a masked gunman had opened fire on a wedding party in the town of Mudhaykhirah in Ibb's Hamir district.

"Armed with a machine gun, the attacker opened fire on wedding guests -- including children -- until he ran out of ammunition," the official said.

In the confusion, the unidentified perpetrator managed to flee the scene, the official added, noting that the man's motive behind the attack remained unknown.

The town of Mudhaykhirah is currently under the control of Yemen's Houthi militants.

The impoverished country has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies, which accuse the Shia Houthis of serving as Iranian proxies, launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.