Al Qaeda militants in southeast Yemen on Friday seized heavy weapons as they overran a key camp in Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla, consolidating their grip on the city, an official said.
“Today al Qaeda fighters took control of the 27th Mechanised Brigade`s camp and seized heavy weapons including tanks and artillery,” the official said, confirming that al Qaeda now controlled all of Mukalla a day after seizing its airport.
Residents of the city confirmed the camp had been seized “without resistance”.
Until Friday, the camp in eastern Mukalla had remained loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour al-Hadi and was the only military site not taken over by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The jihadist network`s powerful Yemeni branch took advantage of the growing chaos in the country to target Mukalla, a city of more than 200,000.
It attacked on April 2 and in less than 24 hours seized key areas and freed more than 300 prisoners, including one of its leaders.
