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A Saudi-led coalition trying to halt the advance of Yemen’s Shiite rebels airdropped weapons to beleaguered fighters in a southern port city Friday, as the Houthis withdrew from the presidential palace in Aden, The Daily Star reported citing news agencies.

The impoverished country has sunk further into chaos since the coalition headed by Riyadh launched Operation Decisive Storm on March 26 to try to halt the advance by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The turmoil has raised fears that Al-Qaeda will expand its foothold in the deeply tribal country, which borders Saudi Arabia and lies near key shipping routes.

The Sunni extremists captured the regional army headquarters Friday in Mukalla, capital of the southeastern province of Hadramawt, with no resistance, a military official said.

The militants now control almost all of the city, where they stormed a prison and freed 300 inmates a day earlier.

Meanwhile, two more Saudi soldiers were killed on the border with Yemen, the Interior Ministry said.

“Two soldiers from the border guards were martyred during an exchange of fire at a border point in Asir region” in Saudi Arabia’s southwest, said the ministry’s spokesman cited by the official Saudi Press Agency.The deaths come a day after the ministry announced the first casualty – a soldier shot from across the border in the same area – since the kingdom launched a campaign against the Houthis.