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Shiite Houthi rebels on Thursday seized control of Yemen's presidential palace in Aden, according to Yemeni officials. The capture is a huge blow to Yemeni forces who, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, had hoped to turn the tide in the nation's borderline civil war after President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi fled from Aden to Saudi Arabia last month as rebels closed in on the city.

Also Thursday, Al Qaeda militants attacked the Yemeni city of Al Mukallah, storming government buildings, overrunning a prison, and freeing at least 270 prisoners, an estimated third of whom are believed to have ties to Al Qaeda. — Jon Terbush