The General Headquarters (GHQ) of the UAE Armed Forces announced Friday that 45 of the UAE personnel died while performing their national duty as part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition in support of the legitimate government in Yemen, UAE’s News Agency (WAM) reported.
Early on Saturday, the bodies of the dead Armed Forces members were brought home onboard a military plane of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense (photo).
The UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs declared a three-day period of mourning, starting from Saturday. Flags will be flown at half-mast for the duration of the mourning.
Hours after the Houthi attack, UAE Air Force fighter jets launched strikes on militia targets.
Saudi Arabia also announced that 10 of its soldiers were killed in a Houthi strike at an arms depot at a military base in the eastern province of Maarib in Yemen on Friday.
The incident took place when Houthis fired a missile that hit a weapons store at a military camp. It also killed 45 soldiers from the United Arab Emirates and 5 from Bahrain, according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
In response to the attack, the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched a series of airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis across Yemen.
The airstrikes targeted the arms depot from which the Houthis launched the missile that killed the soldiers the day before.
The coalition also targeted one of the biggest arms depots in Marib as well as Houthi positions in several parts of the capital Sanaa, according to the channel.
In a separate development, forces loyal to internationally-recognized President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi seized parts of Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz from Houthis.
Since late March, an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia has bombed Iranian-backed Houthi militias and forces allied to deposed leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a bid to restore Hadi's government back to power.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed his “deep condolences” in a phone call to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme UAE Armed Forces Commander Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan over the deaths of UAE soldiers, the White House said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain are three key members of the Arab-led coalition seeking to restore the internationally-recognized government of Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi to power.
Source: WAM; SPA; Al Arabiya – Photo: WAM
