The United States is evacuating its remaining 100 special operations forces from Yemen amid the deteriorating security situation in the country, local sources have told Al Jazeera.
The troops, who conducted counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups, were leaving the al-Anad airbase in Lahj province on Saturday citing security concerns.
The US military told Al Jazeera that it was in the process of pulling approximately 100 special operations out of Yemen, because of the political instability and continued fighting there.
The personnel, who worked in coordination with the Yemeni government in controlling drone operations, were the last US forces stationed in the country.
The evacuation comes a day after suicide bombers, reportedly pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), killed at least 137 worshippers and wounded hundreds more at two mosques in the capital Sanaa.
Washington, which considers Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) one of the most dangerous wings of al-Qaeda, had lent financial and logistical support to Yemen's government in combatting the armed group.
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has since fled the capital to the southern port city of Aden, has been a vocal supporter of the US war against al-Qaeda, at one point saying he approved each US drone strike.
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Saturday's US withdrawal comes as Hadi made his first televised speech since escaping house arrest, pledging to fight what he called Iranian influence.
Accusing Tehran of backing the Houthis who drove him out of Sanaa, the embattled president vowed that "the Yemeni republic flag will fly on the Marran mountain in Saada [the Houthis northern stronghold] instead of the Iranian flag".
Iran has been repeatedly accused of backing the fighters who belong to the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam, but the Houthis insist that the Islamic Republic does not meddle in Yemeni affairs.
Hadi also called on the Houthis to leave the capital and for its allied militias to quit government ministries. He denounced the Houthis as "coup plotters" and said he wanted to confront sectarianism.
Meanwhile, the Houthis called for an offensive against security and military institutions controlled by Hadi describing it as a battle against extremists.
RELATED: The rise of the Houthis
Yemen has descended into chaos since the 2012 ousting of longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh, with security having broken down since Houthis swept unopposed into the capital last year.
An ISIL affiliated group claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks on Twitter, threatening that the bombings were "only a part of the coming flood".
The Houthis, who are considered heretics by ISIL and al-Qaeda, descended from their heartland in Saada last year, fighting their way towards Sanaa and defeating tribal and military rivals along the way.
Earlier this year, they put Hadi, the elected president, under house arrest, disbanded parliament and appointed Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a cousin of the group's leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, as the new president.
Stability in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, is of international concern because it borders major international shipping lanes and lies next to Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies