Militants linked to al-Qaeda have captured a town close to the Yemeni capital Sana'a, demonstrating the advantage they have seized in a year of political turbulence, The Telegraph reported.

The militants, who have already seized parts of Abyan province in the south including half of its capital, Zinjibar, marched into the town of Radda almost unopposed on Sunday Jan 15 morning, local police said.

The town is 105 miles south-east of Sana'a, and the raid marks the closest the group have come to the seat of power.

Yemen is still locked in a political stand-off over the future of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is supposed to have resigned in favour of his deputy, Abdul Hadi Mansour, and an opposition leader Mohammed Basindwa who has been appointed prime minister.

But his sons retain their positions at the head of the security apparatus, leading many to question whether he is really out of power, while protesters continue to demand his prosecution despite a deal offering him immunity.

In a year of protest and an often violent government response, al-Qaeda and a broad-based network of militants have been able to extend their presence, even though their ability to strike beyond Yemen's borders as in the past has been damaged by the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, their American-educated and English-speaking spiritual leader.

The leader of the group that took Radda was said to be Tareq al-Dahab, Awlaki's brother-in-law. He was supposed to have been handed over to the Yemeni authorities by Syria, whose security forces caught him trying to join up with al-Qaeda in Iraq, another indication of the weakness of Yemen's central authorities.