{{Dozens of suspected al-Qaeda fighters have captured a Yemeni army base in the southeast of the Arabian peninsula country, a military official said.}}
The armed group had taken some military personnel hostage on Monday at the base in the port city of al-Mukalla, killing at least three soldiers and wounding six others.
“Some of the attackers managed to infiltrate into the base,” the official said.
“They caused confusion because soldiers at the base thought they were being attacked by members of the Central Security apparatus.”
The rebels, who were dressed in special forces uniforms and drew up in four military vehicles, stormed the seaside base taking many more soldiers hostage, the official said.
The commander of the army’s second military region, General Muhsen Hasan, was in the building at the time of the attack, and is thought to have been captured.
Army reinforcements have been deployed to the area and have engaged the rebels, the official said, warning that the suspected al-Qaeda fighters would “pay a heavy price” for the attack.
Mukalla is capital of Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramawt and a major port city.
It is the second major assault on the Yemeni army in 10 days blamed on al-Qaeda in 10 days.
Mukalla is capital of Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramawt and a major port city.
On September 20, suspected al-Qaeda fighters killed at least 56 soldiers and police in coordinated dawn attacks in Shabwa province further west.
That was the deadliest day for the Yemeni security forces since the army recaptured a string of southern towns from the jihadists in a major offensive last year.
Washington regards al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as the global jihadist network’s most dangerous affiliate and has stepped up its drone strikes against the group in recent weeks.
{Agencies}
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