Al-Qaida gunmen captures third southern town in Yemen

Gunmen of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch seized a third town in Yemen's southern province of Abyan Saturday after clashes with pro-government tribal fighters, leaving five people killed, a security official told Xinhua.

In the early hours of the day, scores of well-armed al-Qaida gunmen took control of the coastal town of Ahwar, in southern Abyan province, killing a senior pro-government tribal chief along with his four guards, the local security source said on condition of anonymity.

"The al-Qaida attackers burned cars and demolished houses of the pro-government tribal after seizing Ahwar town, " the security source said.

Local residents told Xinhua that the tribal fighters could not stand long in front of a large number of al-Qaida gunmen, who spread in around the town and set up several checkpoints there.

The al-Qaida gunmen seized full control over government buildings and a number of suburbs and villages around the Ahwar town, according to local residents.

Last December, scores of gunmen of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took full control over two strategic towns in neighboring southern Abyan province, about 45 kilometres from Aden,Yemen's temporary capital.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.

The AQAP, also known locally as Ansar al-Sharia, emerged in January 2009. It had claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on Yemen's army and government institutions.

It took advantage of the current security vacuum and the ongoing civil war to expand its influence in Yemen's southern regions.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians. Endit