Al-Qaeda blows up Yemen army HQ in stronghold city

Al-Qaeda militants on Wednesday blew up an army headquarters and set up checkpoints in the network's southeastern stronghold of Mukalla, officials in Hadramawt province said.

Wednesday's explosion flattened the three-storey army building - the command center for a zone covering Hadramawt and parts of neighbouring Shabwa province.

It came a day after al-Qaeda bombed a headquarters of the secret police in Mukalla, the officials said.

The coalition of Arab states has been carrying out air strikes against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since March, but has so far not intervened against al-Qaeda.

In Aden a 100-strong Saudi force arrived on Tuesday and was deployed at the main southern city's international airport, military sources said.

"This force's mission is to help secure the city, where al-Qaeda militants surfaced last weekend," one of the sources said, referring to Aden.

Backed by arms and troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, government loyalists recaptured Aden from Houthi rebels and their allies in mid-July before retaking four other southern provinces.

On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had suspended its operations in Aden after unidentified gunmen stormed its office there.