Al-Qaida militants take over town in SE Yemen

Image via Wikipedia

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 -- Dozens of al-Qaida militants Sunday morning seized a town in Yemen's southeastern province of al-Bayda, a provincial security official told Xinhua.

"The al-Qaida members backed by armored vehicles stormed the al- Bayda province overnight, taking control over the Radda city from all surrounding entrances and directions," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"A small security barrack in the city was unable to confront the storming campaign of the well-armed groups and the police forces didn't show any kind of resistance," he said.

Al-Baydda province, bordering the restive province of Abyan, is considered to be another new stronghold of the al-Qaida terrorist group.

A local resident told Xinhua that "we were surprised that such armed groups defeated the security forces, it is another scenario like Abyan."

In al-Baydda's neighboring province of Abyan, the government forces backed by U.S. Marine troops and air force have been fighting militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for more than eight months after the terrorists took over Abyan's capital city of Zinjibar in late May 2011.

The AQAP group has seized several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with militants over past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.

from XINHUA

Posted in: Abyan, ADEN, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaida, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen, Zinjibar