SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A government official says Yemen’s president was lightly injured and four top officials wounded when opposition tribesmen struck his palace with rockets.

It was the first time that tribesmen have targeted President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s palace in nearly two weeks of heavy fighting with government troops in the capital.

The official says the rockets hit while officials were praying at a mosque inside the palace compound.

He says Saleh, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the parliament chief and a presidential aide were wounded — Saleh lightly, while the deputy prime minister and aide’s wounds were serious. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

For months, youth-led protesters have sought to peacefully oust Saleh, but their campaign has been overtaken and transformed into an armed showdown between Yemen’s two most powerful families, the president’s and the al-Ahmar clan. The al-Ahmar family heads the country’s strongest tribal confederation, which has vowed to end Saleh’s 33 years in power.

Violence in Sanaa escalated to new heights overnight as shelling expanded beyond the neighborhood where al-Ahmar clan chief lives. Gunbattles also raged in the northern Hassaba district, the center of fighting that began May 23 and has since spread to other parts of the city.

Troops attacked and burned the headquarters of a private TV station owned by one of the 10 al-Ahmar brothers. A building housing an airline office also was set alight.