(CNN) — Al Qaeda militants seized control of a military base and two checkpoints during raids in southern Yemen on Monday in which at least 21 people died, security officials and residents said.
Hours of firefights erupted after the militants hit an army barracks in the Loder district of Abyan province in an assault that included heavy artillery, according to the officials.
The dead included 12 militants, seven soldiers and two members of pro-government tribes, they said.