Yemen's government is to allow the US to set up a military base on its territory, a political analyst says.

The US can no longer rely on Yemen's government to fight al-Qaeda because it is losing its legitimacy and becoming weaker, Ali Al-Ahmed, a political analyst, told Press TV on Wednesday.

Al-Ahmed added that his sources have revealed that the Yemeni government has decided to let the US military establish the air base on an island called Socotra located off the coast of Yemen.

According to the Saudi scholar, the island is a natural wildlife refuge. The information about the US air base will be made public in the next few weeks.

Al-Ahmed is the founder and director of an independent think-tank in Washington, D.C. focused on providing analyses and disseminating information on political issues in the Persian Gulf region, particularly Saudi Arabia, and the US's relations with the regional countries.