Al-Qaeda militants seize control of Yemen radio station

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday that al Qaeda militants have seized control of a weapons factory, Presidential Palace and a state radio station in Yemen’ southern province of Abyan. The president, facing massive street protests across the country demanding an end to his 33-year rule, made the remarks in a meeting that aired by the state television. A government official in Jaar district in Abyan, who works at the radio station seized by the al Qaeda militants, told Xinhua that militants took over the Presidential Palace and the radio station after they besieged them for two days. A provincial security official told Xinhua that the security authorities are preparing for a massive attack against the al Qaeda militants to force them out of the state facilities. (Source: China Radio International/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)