Sanaa: The son of Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh has called for revenge against the Houthi rebels who took his father's life, reports Al Jazeera.

"I will lead the battle until the last Houthi is thrown out of Yemen ... the blood of my father will be hell ringing in the ears of Iran," Ahmed Ali Saleh was quoted as saying by Saudi-owned al-Ekhbariya TV on Tuesday.

He called for his father's backers to "take back Yemen from the Iranian Houthi militias".

Saleh was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade and gun attack on his vehicle at a checkpoint outside Sanaa on Monday. The Houthis said that he was targeted for "treason" after he cut ties with the rebels just days earlier and indicated he was open to talks with the Saudi-led coalition, which has been leading the fight against the Houthis since 2015.

The threat came as news surfaced that Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, the former president's nephew, was also killed during clashes with the Houthi rebels

According to Reuters, a statement from Saleh's party on Tuesday confirmed that the senior military commander, whose fate had been unknown, was dead.

Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh was expected to lead the military operations against the Houthis, analysts recently told Al Jazeera.

Another report adds, Houthi rebels in Yemen have held dozens of journalists captive for days at a television station in the capital and a media watchdog has demanded their immediate release. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the rebels launched rocket-propelled grenades at the headquarters of the Yemen Al Youm TV channel in Sanaa on Saturday before storming the station and holding hostage 41 employees inside.

Three security guards were wounded in the attack, the group quoted diplomatic sources as saying.

"We condemn the violent actions towards journalists by the Houthis, which constitute serious violations of the Geneva Conventions," said Alexandra El Khazen, head of RSF's Middle East desk.

The assault and hostage-taking comes amid heightened tensions after forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh severed ties with the Houthis, sparking days of gun battles and artillery fire in the capital.

Saleh's vehicle was reportedly struck by an RPG fire on Monday and he was later shot to death, although some sources tell Al Jazeera that he may have been executed in his residence.