Sana’a: Al Qaida militants in Yemen stormed the center of the coastal city of Al Mukalla early Thursday, freeing about 300 inmates, including scores of militants, as Al rebels fought their way into the heart of the country’s second city Aden to the west, Yemeni security officials said.
They said Al Qaida militants were also deployed across major roads leading into Al Mukalla, capital of the vast eastern province of Hadramawt, in an apparent attempt to prevent anyone from retaking it. The province is still mostly in the hands of forces loyal to embattled President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country last month.
Al Qaida was able to capture Al Mukalla because of the turmoil gripping Yemen, where a Saudi-led air campaign is targeting Al Houthi rebels, and rival groups are fighting it out across much of the country.
Khalid Batarfi, a senior Al Qaida figure who had been held for more than four years, was among prisoners who escaped from the jail in Hadramawt province, an official told AFP.
Two prison guards and five inmates were killed in clashes, the official said.
Batarfi is among Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) top regional commanders, known for his leading role in a 2011-2012 battle with Yemeni government troops during which extremists seized large parts of the south and east.
Al Qaida militants also clashed Thursday with troops guarding the local adminstration complex in Mukalla, a branch of the central bank and the police headquarters, the official said.
Fighting also broke out at the harbour and around a presidential palace in the city, security officials said.
The militants met no resistance as they seized the local radio headquarters, the officials said, adding that broadcasting was interrupted.
Observers have warned that Yemen-based AQAP, classified by the United States as the network’s deadliest franchise, could exploit the unrest to strengthen its presence in the country.
Before the latest chaos erupted, Yemen had been a key US ally in the fight against Al Qaida, allowing Washington to carry out a longstanding drone war on its territory.
