Yemen Officials Say Al Qaeda Seizes Key Areas of Aden
Middle East News
Sun, 23 Aug 2015
An armed fighter loyal to Yemen's exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi inspects a burnt car at a house of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after they seized it from Houthi rebels in the country's third city Taez on August 22, 2015. (AFP Photo)
Map locates Aden, Yemen; 1c x 2 inches; 46.5 mm x 50 mm;
An armed fighter loyal to Yemen's exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi inspects a burnt car at a house of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after they seized it from Houthi rebels in the country's third city Taez on August 22, 2015. (AFP Photo)
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Sanaa, Yemen: Al Qaeda militants have seized control of key areas in and around Yemen's port city of Aden, high-ranking security officials said on Saturday, and a major gain for the group which has been making inroads amid the chaos of the country's civil war.
Fighters took Tawahi district, home to a presidential palace and Aden's main port and were patrolling the streets, some carrying black banners, the officials said. The militants also took parts of Crater, Aden's commercial centre, and parts of the town of Dar Saad, just north of Aden, including an army base that their fighters turned into a training camp, they added.
Security officials near the seized base, in Dar Saad's al-Lohoum district, said it is now training some 200 militants.
The officials, who hail from the military, security forces and police, all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak to journalists.
Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi, now based in Saudi Arabia, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The conflict gained international attention when the Houthis took over the capital, Sanaa, last September and escalated in March as a Saudi-led coalition started launching airstrikes against Houthi positions.
Backed by heavy airstrikes, the coalition forces pushed the Houthis out of Aden last month, and have been pursuing them further to the north. They had been making rapid advances in armoured columns until earlier this week when rebels ambushed them in a major battle near the entrance to Bayda province.
Al Qaeda appears to have taken advantage of a security vacuum in Aden to ramp up its presence. It also has forces in the cities of Breiqa, west of Aden, and al-Khadra, the officials added.
Washington considers A lQaeda's Yemen branch to be the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network.
In Tawahi, Al Qaeda destroyed the main state security building on Saturday with a powerful bomb that was heard around the city, security officials said. The group has been trying to attack the site for several years, they added. Meanwhile, an official with port security said one of their boats was set ablaze by suspected Al Qaeda militants.
Washington, meanwhile, has kept up its drone attacks targeting the militants, including one in June in the city of Mukalla that killed the group's top leader. Al Qaeda has been in control of Mukalla, the capital of the Hadramawt province which borders Saudi Arabia, since April.
Al Qaeda and Islamic State members were also present in al-Houta, the capital of Lahj province, according to witnesses and security officials.
High-ranking security and military officials met on Saturday in the office of Aden's governor to discuss ways to quickly absorb pro-government fighters in the military, officials in his office said. Officials from Aden, Lahj, and Abin provinces attended the meeting.
The officials discussed the increasing reach of the attacks by Al Qaeda, including taking over some official government buildings in Aden and the bombing of the city's state security building.
Yemeni transport Minister Badr Bassalma told The Associated Press that Aden's ports were secure and operational, without elaborating. He spoke from Saudi Arabia, where Hadi fled to in March as the Houthis seized Aden. Some Yemeni officials are currently in Aden but the government remains in Saudi Arabia.
Sun, 23 Aug 2015
An armed fighter loyal to Yemen's exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi inspects a burnt car at a house of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after they seized it from Houthi rebels in the country's third city Taez on August 22, 2015. (AFP Photo)
Map locates Aden, Yemen; 1c x 2 inches; 46.5 mm x 50 mm;
An armed fighter loyal to Yemen's exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi inspects a burnt car at a house of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after they seized it from Houthi rebels in the country's third city Taez on August 22, 2015. (AFP Photo)
PrevNext
Sanaa, Yemen: Al Qaeda militants have seized control of key areas in and around Yemen's port city of Aden, high-ranking security officials said on Saturday, and a major gain for the group which has been making inroads amid the chaos of the country's civil war.
Fighters took Tawahi district, home to a presidential palace and Aden's main port and were patrolling the streets, some carrying black banners, the officials said. The militants also took parts of Crater, Aden's commercial centre, and parts of the town of Dar Saad, just north of Aden, including an army base that their fighters turned into a training camp, they added.
Security officials near the seized base, in Dar Saad's al-Lohoum district, said it is now training some 200 militants.
The officials, who hail from the military, security forces and police, all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak to journalists.
Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi, now based in Saudi Arabia, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The conflict gained international attention when the Houthis took over the capital, Sanaa, last September and escalated in March as a Saudi-led coalition started launching airstrikes against Houthi positions.
Backed by heavy airstrikes, the coalition forces pushed the Houthis out of Aden last month, and have been pursuing them further to the north. They had been making rapid advances in armoured columns until earlier this week when rebels ambushed them in a major battle near the entrance to Bayda province.
Al Qaeda appears to have taken advantage of a security vacuum in Aden to ramp up its presence. It also has forces in the cities of Breiqa, west of Aden, and al-Khadra, the officials added.
Washington considers A lQaeda's Yemen branch to be the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network.
In Tawahi, Al Qaeda destroyed the main state security building on Saturday with a powerful bomb that was heard around the city, security officials said. The group has been trying to attack the site for several years, they added. Meanwhile, an official with port security said one of their boats was set ablaze by suspected Al Qaeda militants.
Washington, meanwhile, has kept up its drone attacks targeting the militants, including one in June in the city of Mukalla that killed the group's top leader. Al Qaeda has been in control of Mukalla, the capital of the Hadramawt province which borders Saudi Arabia, since April.
Al Qaeda and Islamic State members were also present in al-Houta, the capital of Lahj province, according to witnesses and security officials.
High-ranking security and military officials met on Saturday in the office of Aden's governor to discuss ways to quickly absorb pro-government fighters in the military, officials in his office said. Officials from Aden, Lahj, and Abin provinces attended the meeting.
The officials discussed the increasing reach of the attacks by Al Qaeda, including taking over some official government buildings in Aden and the bombing of the city's state security building.
Yemeni transport Minister Badr Bassalma told The Associated Press that Aden's ports were secure and operational, without elaborating. He spoke from Saudi Arabia, where Hadi fled to in March as the Houthis seized Aden. Some Yemeni officials are currently in Aden but the government remains in Saudi Arabia.
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