Al-Qaeda captures airport and oil terminal in Yemen

Middle East, News April 16, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Al-Qaeda militants have captured some major facilities south of Yemen, including a major airport and an oil terminal, as clashes between government forces and terrorists rage along the southern coast of the Arab country.

Military officials in the capital Sana’a confirmed Thursday that Al-Qaeda militants took control of the airport in the southern port city of Mukalla, the capital of the Hadramawt province.

The unidentified sources, who were speaking to the Associated Press, said the gains came after Al-Qaeda militants managed to push out members of Yemen’s largest infantry brigade, who were in charge of securing the area.

After the leaders of the brigade fled the scene, militants easily captured a sea port and an oil terminal outside of Mukalla, a city overrun by Al-Qaeda earlier this month.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), known as the most lethal arm of the terrorist network, is currently engaged in a battle against the popular committees loyal to Houthi Ansarullah fighters, who control the Yemeni capital Sana’a and other major provinces.

Earlier this week, Ansarullah fighters and army forces have made fresh gains in their battle against Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the central province of Ma’rib despite ongoing Saudi airstrikes against Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s air campaign against Yemen started on March 26, in a bid to restore power to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

According to sources in the Yemeni army, around 2,600 people have been killed in the Saudi aggression over the past three weeks.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is rapidly deteriorating. Many international aid organizations have sought clearances to dispatch medical and other humanitarian supplies by air and sea to civilians in need.

MS/KA/SS