Al-Qaida Seizes Provincial Airport in Southeast Yemen
Al-Qaida militants in Yemen on Thursday seized control of an airport in the southeastern provincial capital of Mukalla, an airport official told AFP.
"The military unit in charge of security at the facility withdrew without resisting" Al-Qaida fighters, the official said.
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the jihadist network's powerful Yemeni branch, took advantage of the country's growing chaos earlier this month to seize control of Mukalla, capital of Hadramawt province.
Also on Thursday, Yemeni tribal forces took control of a major oil terminal in the country's southeast after soldiers protecting the site withdrew, a military source said.
The terminal, in the city of Al-Shihr in Hadramawt province, "fell under the complete control of tribal fighters after the military unit guarding it withdrew in the afternoon without resistance," the source told AFP.
Various groups, including tribal forces and Al-Qaida militants, have taken over parts of Yemen amid chaos as Iran-backed rebels battle pro-government forces for control of the country.
Source: Agence France Presse
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