U.A.E. Intercepts Two Ballistic Missiles Over Capital as Gulf Tensions Escalate
A previous attack in Abu Dhabi by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed three people and injured six others
DUBAI—The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi rebels in the most recent attack targeting its capital of Abu Dhabi that threatens to widen Yemen’s yearslong civil war across the region.
The U.A.E said early Monday that the attack resulted in no casualties but scattered shards of missiles across Abu Dhabi. Videos posted to social media Monday before dawn showed bright lights in the sky above the city, and residents reported hearing explosions.
The country is prepared to deal with threats and takes all necessary measures to protect itself, the U.A.E.’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on state news agency WAM.
The Iran-aligned Houthis didn’t immediately claim responsibility for the attack. They claimed one last week on the U.A.E. that killed three people and injured six others.
The Houthis have shown they are willing to attack the U.A.E., which has become the main hub for international business in the Middle East, and the assaults escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf. The U.A.E. and its allies are fighting a seven-year war in Yemen on the side of the country’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels.
In Saudi Arabia, two residents suffered minor injuries after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile that fell in an industrial area of Jizan, a city in the south of the country, near the Yemeni border, Saudi state media reported Sunday.
Saudi Arabia, which is leading the coalition fighting the Houthis, has been attacked hundreds of times since the Saudis entered the war in 2015. But the Yemeni rebels in recent years have expanded their range, adding the U.A.E. as a target.
In response to the attack on the U.A.E., the Saudi-led coalition launched days of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.
The coalition hit a prison in a town north of the capital city of Sana’a on Friday, killing dozens and injuring scores of others, the Houthis said. Around 200 people, including 70 who died, were transferred to hospitals, Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said.
The Houthis, which are backed by Iran, said last week that they had targeted Abu Dhabi with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones because the Gulf state recently escalated violence in Yemen.
Earlier this month, Emirati-backed militants dealt the Houthis an unexpected defeat in the oil-rich province of Shabwa, and the U.A.E. has increased efforts recently in support of local anti-Houthi rebels in Yemen.