SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's information minister says Shiite Houthi rebels are shelling the residence of the country's president as they also swept into the presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa.

The minister, Nadia al-Sakkaf posted on her Twitter account on Tuesday that President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi home in downtown Sanaa has come under "heavy shelling since 3:00 PM by armed forces positioned over rooftops facing his house."

Hadi is believed to be inside the house.

The shelling is a dramatic escalation in the violence that has gripped Sanaa since Monday and which has been described as a coup.

Al-Sakkaf's posting came as a Yemeni army commander said the rebels have also raided the presidential palace — where Hadis' office is — and are looting its weapons depot.