Yemeni rebels fired missiles at the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia Monday, with the US mobilising to help intercept them and a Saudi-led coalition hitting back by blowing up the insurgents launchpad.
The latest intra-regional exchanges of fire propelled into a second week a sharp escalation of hostilities stemming from Yemen s civil war, where Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others support the government against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
Witnesses saw bright flashes arcing over the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi in the early hours as two ballistic missiles were intercepted, scattering debris.
US Central Command said later on Monday that its forces at Al-Dhafra airbase near Abu Dhabi “engaged two inbound missile threats with multiple Patriot interceptors coincident to efforts by the armed forces of the UAE.”
“The combined efforts successfully prevented both missiles from impacting the base,” it said in a statement, adding that US forces suffered no casualties. The UAE, like Saudi Arabia, is an important US ally and Al-Dhafra also hosts French forces.
Nobody was hurt in the attack, which came a week after the Huthis killed three people in a drone and missile assault on Abu Dhabi, triggering a volley of deadly air strikes on Yemen.
Separately, missiles were fired on Saudi Arabia in regions bordering Yemen, with two people wounded in Jazan, and another missile intercepted over Dhahran al-Janub, also in the kingdom s southwest.
Riyadh on Monday condemned the latest attacks, calling on the international community “to put an end to this hostile behaviour”.
The UAE said an F-16 fighter jet destroyed a Huthi missile launcher in Al-Jawf in northern Yemen at 4:10 am (0110 GMT), “immediately after it launched two ballistic missiles at Abu Dhabi”.
Abu Dhabi released a black-and-white video of the attack in Yemen, showing an explosion followed by a large fire that sent up plumes of thick smoke.
