DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Washington Insider Magazine) – Authorities say the UAE intercepted 2 missiles launched by Yemen’s Rebel groups over the airspace of Abu Dhabi early On Monday, the second strike on the Emirati capital in a week.
The missile launch heightens tensions in the Gulf Region, which have already seen a string of attacks nearby — but never clearly on — Emirati territory. It comes at a critical time in Yemen’s years-long conflict, as well as the failure of Iran’s nuclear agreement with Western powers. According to an ABC News story, American forces at Al-Dhafra Airforce Base in the city took refuge in bunkers amid the strike.
In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yehia Sarei claimed responsibility for the strike, stating the rebels used Zulfiqar ballistic missiles and drones to attack numerous targets in the UAE, including Al-Dhafra Air Base. He warned that “as long as attacks on the Yemeni people continue,” the UAE would be a target.
Later, the Emirati Defense Ministry released a black-and-white video purporting to show an F-16 destroying the missile launcher involved in the strike in Abu Dhabi. The facility was found near al-Jawaf, a Yemeni region around 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi, according to the Defense Ministry.
The F-16 was identified as Emirati by the state-linked publication The National in Abu Dhabi, raising questions of how intimately involved the UAE is currently in the conflict after retreating most of its ground soldiers in 2019. The Emiratis have continued to support militias on the ground, such as the Giants Brigade, which has achieved recent successes against the Houthis.
The incident comes a week after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone and cruise missile attack on the Emirati capital, deliberately striking the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company fuel store in the Mussafah district and an airport. Three individuals were killed and six others were injured in the strike on the fuel station.
In recent days, a Saudi-led coalition backed by the UAE launched severe airstrikes against Yemen, throwing the Arab world’s poorest nation off the internet and killing more than 80 detainees inside a detention center.
The Houthis threatened to exact vengeance on the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the strikes. A Houthi-fired ballistic missile fell in an industrial sector in Jizan, Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi-led coalition. According to television footage, the missile ripped a deep crater in the ground and injured 2 immigrants of Sudanese and Bangladeshi nationalities.
