Yemen: Al-Qaeda insurgents break out of prison

Sanaa, 27 June (AKI) - Five Al-Qaeda miltants have escaped from a maximum-security prison in western Yemen, according to the local press.

Photos of the insurgents who broke out of the prison in the city of al-Hodeida were published on Wednesday in Yemeni newspapers.

Yemen's interior ministry has asked the public for its cooperation in recapturing the men and fears they will be helped by the country's tribes.

The government believes they may attempt to flee to Yemen's south where Al-Qaeda has a strong presence.

Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, which is considered one of the terror group's most dangerous affiliates. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) was formed in January 2009 by a merger between two regional offshoots of the international Islamist militant network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.