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The Battle of Al Mukalla was a battle between al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, local tribesmen, and the Yemen Army for control of the coastal city of Al Mukalla, Yemen. ==The battle== Al-Qaeda fighters entered Al Mukalla on 2 April 2015, seizing control of several government buildings, including a presidential palace. They attacked the city's central prison with rocket-propelled grenades, freeing 300 inmates, including a number of captured militants. They also attacked the local branch of the central bank. The group reportedly faced little resistance as it took control of the city. The last remaining Yemen Army troops were driven out by mortar fire on 3 April, as the militants occupying the city consolidated their grip.〔 One of the leading al-Qaeda prisoners sprung from prison, Khalid Batarfi, posed for pictures disseminated through social media in the Al Mukalla presidential palace.〔 ''The Washington Post'' compared the prison break to the escape of 23 jihadists, including future AQAP emir Nasir al-Wuhayshi, from a Saudi prison in 2006, a formative event for the group. On 4 April, Hadhramaut Governorate tribesmen took over two deserted army bases in Ash Shihr and Riyan, near Al Mukalla. They then entered Al Mukalla itself in technicals. There were conflicting accounts of the situation on 5 April, with the ''Yemen Times'' reporting that anti-AQAP tribal fighters surrounded the city but were unable to enter it and Reuters reporting that the tribesmen were successful in retaking much of the city from the jihadists, pushing the al-Qaeda fighters out, although the militants reportedly remained in some neighbourhoods. One tribal fighter and two soldiers were reportedly killed in clashes between tribesmen and Yemeni Army soldiers on 5 April.〔 The ''Yemen Observer'' reported on 7 April, citing "tribal sources", that the Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance and militiamen loyal to the embattled president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi were successful in retaking Al Mukalla.〔 However, Reuters cited local residents as saying that al-Qaeda remained in control of about half of the city. Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants calling themselves the Sons of Hadhramaut seized an oil terminal and infantry base in Al Mukalla on 16 April, as well as an air defense base and military airport on the city's outskirts. Yemeni troops reportedly deserted their posts to avoid a fight with the militants. The jihadists also captured a massive weapons depot that contained dozens of tanks, Katyusha rocket launchers and small arms. With this advance, Al-Qaeda consolidated its hold on Hadhramaut province.〔(Al-Qaida in Yemen Takes Massive Weapons Depot From Army )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Al Mukalla」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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