SANAA, April 6 (Reuters) - Yemen's Shi'ite rebels destroyed the vacant house of the mainly Muslim Arab state's top rabbi, a security official said on Sunday.

Residents said the assailants from a group opposed to the U.S.-allied government destroyed the house of Yehia Youssuf in Saada, a northern province. The security official said it was not immediately known what weapons were used in the attack.

"They turned to the houses of other Jews after," one resident said.

About 200 Yemeni Jews who lived in Saada, including Youssef, have been living in the capital Sanaa due to sporadic fighting between government forces and the rebel group, known as the Houthis.

The conflict in Saada has been raging on and off since 2004.

Sunni Muslims make up the majority of Yemen's 19 million population, while most of the rest are from the Zaydi branch of Shi'ite Islam. Jews are estimated at a few hundreds. (Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; Writing by Inal Ersan; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

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