Local Editor
Dozens of al-Qaeda militants took control of the southern Yemeni town of Ahwar on Saturday, residents said, consolidating the group’s control over much of the region.
The coastal city and surrounding district, in Abyan province, is home to over 30,000 people and is an important geographic link between the major port city of Mukalla to the east and the smaller town of Zinjibar, both of which Al Qaeda seized months ago.
"At dawn this morning the Al Qaeda gunmen clashed with the Popular Resistance forces, killing three of them. They attacked the sheikh in charge of the area and after he escaped set up street checkpoints and planted their black flag on government buildings," one resident said.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has expanded during Yemen’s civil war, which triggered a military aggression by a Gulf Arab coalition last March.
It has made its advances in Yemen as the Saudi-led coalition forces, which back the ousted government, have clashed with the country’s army and popular committees.
Residents in Aden’s Mansoura neighborhood said heavy explosions reverberated on Friday night as gunmen launched shoulder-fired rockets in a failed attempt to take over a container port.
Yemen has been under brutal military aggression by Saudi-led coalition since March 26.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.
Riyadh launched the offensive on Yemen in a bid to allegedly restore power to fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is a close ally to Saudi Arabia.
However, Yemeni army, backed by the popular committees including the Houthi Ansarullah movement has been responding to the aggression by targeting several Saudi border military posts and clearing several areas across the country, especially the Yemen’s south, from Hadi and al-Qaeda-linked militias.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
