Al-Qaida takes full control of Yemeni town
SAN'A, Yemen -- A band of al-Qaida militants took full control yesterday of a town 100 miles south of the capital, San'a, overrunning army positions, storming the local prison and freeing at least 150 inmates.
The capture of the town of Radda expanded already significant territorial conquests by the militants, who have taken advantage of the weak central government and political turmoil roiling the nation for the past year during an anti-regime uprising inspired by Arab Spring revolts.
The authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh recently agreed to step down after months of resisting the protests against his 33-year rule. But he remains a powerful force within the country and a spark for continuing unrest.
Al-Qaida in Yemen had previously taken control of a string of towns in the mostly lawless south. But its capture of Radda is important because it gives the militants a territorial foothold closer than ever before to the capital, where many sleeper cells of the terror network are thought to be located.
In the poorest nation in the Arab world, there have long been fears that the chaos, if unchecked, could lead to the breakup of the country along tribal or regional lines, with the militants in control of inaccessible and fortified pockets deep in the country's mountainous interior.
Such a scenario could make Yemen akin to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, a sanctuary for militants from the world over where they could plot high-profile terror attacks against the United States and its allies.
Yemen's active al-Qaida branch has already been linked to terror attacks on U.S. soil and on neighboring Saudi Arabia. It is believed to be one of the international terror organization's most dangerous franchises.
The United States and its western and Gulf Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia had long considered Saleh a pivotal, though not entirely reliable, partner in the fight against al-Qaida. But the United States withdrew its support last summer and said Saleh should step down.
An Associated Press photographer who visited Radda on Sunday said the militants were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and other weapons. He quoted residents as saying the black al-Qaida banner had been raised atop a mosque the militants captured over the weekend.
According to security officials, about 200 militants pushed into Radda Monday from points captured over the weekend. They stormed the local jail and freed 150 to 200 inmates, including an unspecified number of militants loyal to al-Qaida.
