TAIZ, Yemen, June 30 (UPI) -- Up to 1,200 prisoners, including al-Qaida suspects, escaped from a prison in the central Yemeni town of Taiz on Tuesday, according to officials.
The circumstances surrounding the mass escape are unclear, with some sources suggesting they were freed after al-Qaida supporters attacked the facility and other saying the escape occurred after guards retreated amid fighting between Houthi rebels and their opponents.