ALTERNATIVE HEADLINE: Alien takes over base held by Predator.
Al Qaeda takes over Mukalla army base in Yemen
Al Qaeda fighters have seized a local army headquarters in Mukalla, fueling fears of the terror network expanding its foothold in Yemen. The Islamists now control most of the city.
The al Qaeda jihadists killed an unspecified number of soldiers and captured a large cache of military hardware, a security official speaking on conditions of anonymity said Friday.
“The soldiers resisted the al Qaeda elements as much as they could, but they could not stop them from controlling the command headquarters,” the official said.
The regional commander and his troops pulled back to military camps near the city’s airport, which is one of the few areas not controlled by al Qaeda, according to military sources. The jihadist forces captured a tank and two armored vehicles.
Residents were reportedly fleeing the city in panic, while several hundred al Qaeda fighters were patrolling and setting up roadblocks in the city, flying the black banner of the extremist network.
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