Yemen: Army takes new Al Qaeda stronghold

SANAA, Yemen – The governor of a southern Yemeni province says troops backed with tanks have regained control of an Al Qaeda stronghold in the south, the latest success in a weeks-long government offensive.

Ali al-Ahmadi, who is the governor of Shabwa province, says three days of shelling of Al Qaeda positions on the outskirts of Azzan town and warnings to local tribal leaders of further escalation caused the militants to flee Saturday into the mountains and to camps in the desert of two nearby provinces. He had no word on casualties.

Azzan had been used by the militant group as a media headquarters.

The army's offensive against what is seen as the world's most dangerous offshoot of Al Qaeda has seen the recapture of several towns that the militants seized during last year's political turmoil.