The Ministry of Defense announced on Monday (February 24) that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles aimed at Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in the wake of an attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen. “There were no casualties in the attack, and the remains of intercepted ballistic missiles fell at various locations in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.”, The ministry said in a statement.
These missiles were launched “By the Houthi terrorist group towards the country”, he said. Emirates is part of a Saudi-led military alliance that has backed the Yemeni government since 2015 against pro-Iranian Houthis. This is the second Houthi attack on the United Arab Emirates in a week.
Increasing conflict
Yemeni rebels have claimed responsibility for a January 17 drone and missile attack on an oil depot and an Abu Dhabi airport that killed three people.
The Houthis have carried out a number of attacks against Saudi Arabia, but the attack on Abu Dhabi on January 17 was the first attack authorized by the United Arab Emirates within its borders.
The conflict in Yemen, which has claimed nearly 377,000 lives, has been intensified in recent weeks by attacks by military coalition forces and ground attacks by government forces.