Yemen Houthi rebels capture major air base and defense minister, closing in on president

Early Wednesday, Houthi rebels backed by Yemen military factions loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh captured a major air base just 35 miles from Aden, the Yemen port fashioned into a temporary capital by embattled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Hadi was forced out of Sanaa, Yemen's capital, last year.

Hadi (above, left) is widely reported to have fled Aden, his last real refuge, after the Shiite Houthis seized the nearby al-Annad air base, until recently used by U.S. and European forces to help Yemen's government fight Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The Houthi militants also arrested Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mahmoud al-Subaihi (above, right) and his top aide during fighting in the southern city of Lahj, and they've offered a $100,000 bounty for Hadi's capture.

Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states near Yemen are alarmed at the rapid advance of the Iran-backed rebels to the edge of their borders. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said that "if the Houthi coup does not end peacefully, we will take the necessary measures for this crisis to protect the region."

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