Booby-trapped vehicle blast kills 15 at Yemen base

Yemen’s al-Qaida branch has exploited the chaos in this embattled country to capture three towns near the southern port city of Aden where pro-government forces have been advancing against Shiite rebels in recent weeks, officials said Thursday.

Mines and unexploded ordnance have caused similarly high death tolls in Aden since the rebels pulled out last month, with dozens of civilians reported killed and hundreds wounded.

Fighters backed by the Arab military coalition have reportedly seized the key city of Zinjibar in southern Yemen, dealing another major blow to the dominant Houthi rebel group.

He has been taking refuge with his cabinet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, since late March.

Residents of Zinjibar forced out by fighting that devastated their city also returned on Sunday to take stock of the damage, a relief official said.

This week has seen fierce fighting in Zinjibar and heavy coalition air strikes against positions of the 15th Army Brigade allied to the Huthis.

Pro-government forces now control the main roads to Aden, Lahj and al-Dhalee and began to attack the Houthis in the southern province of Taiz, about 30 km south of Ibb.

That move is designed to cut the capital of Sanaa off and starve it, as well as other provinces that are still under the control of the Houthi, of much needed vital supplies.

Al-Bukhiti accused Hadi of betraying his country by asking for foreign intervention and also accused him of colluding with al-Qaeda and IS.

Yemen’s civil war pits the Shia-affiliated Houthis, from the country’s north, against Hadi’s Sunni-dominated government.

A Saudi-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen at Hadi’s request since March.

In a statement issued ahead of his three-day visit to Yemen on Saturday, ICRC President Peter Maurer warned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the violence-torn Arabian Peninsula state.

The militia sources said 13 internally displaced people returning to their homes in the area were killed by landmines planted by the Houthis amid the fighting.