Al-Qaeda overruns 3 Yemeni towns after US raid

Al-Qaeda in Yemen has overrun three southern towns just days after a US raid which martyred at least 16 civilians, officials have said.

According to Press TV, the terrorist group's entry into the Abyan Province towns of Loder, Shaqra and Ahwar came as the White House defended Sunday's raid on a purportedly al-Qaeda compound as a "success" even though multiple civilians and a Navy SEAL were killed.

Local sources said the captures were helped by a pullout by forces loyal to the Saudi-backed former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, angry over the late payment of their wages. 

Another source said al-Qaeda militants later withdrew from Loder and Shaqra after protest demonstrations by residents who threatened to take arms against the Takfiri group.

Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of nearly two years of a Saudi military campaign targeting the Yemeni army and Ansarullah fighters, which has left more than 10,000 people martyred.  

Yemeni forces have been fighting the Saudi invaders back including by launching retaliatory measures along the Saudi border or inside Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, the Saudi Interior Ministry said a border guard of the kingdom was killed after a mine blast in Southwestern Province of Jizan on the border with Yemen.

The Saudi soldier died at the hospital as a result of severe injuries sustained in the mine blast, the ministry said.

ME