The Houthi clan accused of kidnapping nine foreigners in northern Yemen denied its role behind the abduction, pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV reported on Sunday.
The Houthi group denied any connection with the kidnapping, accusing the government of attempting a political trade-off through such accusations, reported Xinhua.
Yemeni interior minister has earlier blamed the Houthi clan for the kidnapping of the nine foreigners in Yemen's volatile province of Saada.
The minister said the nine foreigners, including seven Germans, one Briton and one South Korean, have been working at the Jumhori Hospital in Saada, warning of more subversive acts by the Houthi followers targeting foreigners.
The Houthi is an anti-government militant group concentrated in northwestern Saada Province. Their former leader Hussein Badreddin aL-Houthi, whom the group was named after, was killed along with a number of his aides in 2004 during a battle with Yemeni military and police forces.
Saada Province, north of Yemen, has been witnessing increasing confrontations between the pro-government tribesmen and followers of the Houthi rebels.
On June 6, a Yemeni court started the trial of 12 persons affiliated to the Houthi group on terrorism charges.