Al-Qaeda announced on Saturday that it has taken control of the coastal town of Radum, in the Yemeni southeastern province of Shabwa.
In a statement released today, and confirmed by a security official, Ansar al-Sharia, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, had taken control today of the Radum town.
The militants moved from Azan and other areas of Shabwa to Radum, according to the official, who indicated that the militants took control of town gradually.
Yemen based al-Qaeda wing, which is according to the US administration the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network, has stepped its attacks on military institutions and personnel, taking an advantage of a distracted government.
A Swiss women, working as an English teacher, was abducted two a week ago by the militants and she is believed to have been moved to Shabwa, the hometown of the US-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Wlaqi, who was assassinated by US drone last year.
Early this year, al-Qaeda briefly seized control of Rada, the main town in the southeastern province of Al-Bytha.
Last year in May, the terror network took control of Zinjubar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which has been the scene of almost daily clashes between AQAP and army forces.
Al-Qaeda free activities in Yemen is a remainder of how dangerous the security situation in the country is.
Last week, the Foreign Minister Abu Baker al-Qiribi revealed that there are US marines stationed in a nearby hotel of the US embassy in Sana'a to deter any potential attack.