In brief: Five-day cease-fire starts in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen – Saudi-led coalition airstrikes came to a halt in Yemen early today after a five-day humanitarian truce went into effect, witnesses and security officials said.

However, ground fighting broke out almost immediately in the restive city of Taiz following random shelling by Shiite Houthi rebels in three neighborhoods, they said.

Security officials said ground fighting has also erupted in Marib province and in the area surrounding the strategic al-Anad military base in Lahj province.

The pause declared by the Saudi-led coalition is intended to help allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to ease the suffering of civilians in the Arab world’s poorest country.

Taliban take base after 100 surrender

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Taliban took control of a large police base in a remote part of northeastern Afghanistan after some 100 police and border guards surrendered and joined the insurgents following three days of fighting, officials said Sunday.

The loss of the Tirgaran base in Badakhshan province late Saturday marked the largest mass surrender since U.S. and NATO forces concluded their combat mission at the end of last year. The police base, in the province’s Wardoj district, had been cut off as heavy rains swamped roads into the area, said Gen. Baba Jan, Badakhshan province’s police chief.

Jan said the local police commander also joined the Taliban and handed over the base’s weapons and ammunition.

The Taliban issued a statement saying they captured the base along with 110 police officers, their local commander and the head of the local border police. It did not say whether the captives joined their ranks.

Jan later said the Taliban had released all the policemen and allowed them to return to their homes.

Suicide bomber hits main Somali hotel

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A suicide bomber rammed a truck rigged with explosives into the blast walls around one of Mogadishu’s most secure hotels, severely damaging the building and killing nine people including a Chinese diplomat, Somalia’s foreign minister said Sunday.

The attack was claimed by the al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabab group and also wounded some 20 people. The walled, luxury Jazeera Hotel is considered the most secure in Somalia’s capital and is frequented by diplomats, foreigners and visiting heads of state.

While the blast destroyed at least eight rooms, it wasn’t as bad as it might have been because the truck, which contained a ton of explosives, was stopped at the blast walls outside the hotel.

In a statement, Al-Shabab said the attack was in retaliation for the deaths of dozens of civilians at the hands of Ethiopian forces, which are part of the AU force, and that the hotel was targeted because it hosts “Western” embassies coordinating the offensive.