UAE intercepts Houthi airstrike in Yemen, Saudi reports 2 injured in missile fall
On January 24, local time, the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis over Abu Dhabi. The attempted attack comes a week after the Houthis carried out drone and missile strikes on Abu Dhabi that killed three civilians.
According to the Emirates News Agency reported on January 24, the UAE Ministry of Defense issued a statement on the same day, saying, “Remnants of intercepted ballistic missiles fell in different areas around Abu Dhabi. The UAE is ready to deal with any threat and will take all necessary measures. Protect the country.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s state media reported late on the 23rd that a Houthi ballistic missile crashed in the south of the country, injuring two residents (a Bangladeshi and a Sudanese) and damaging an industry workshops and vehicles in the district.
According to Al Jazeera’s report on the 24th, the Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that their targets were the Davra Air Base in Abu Dhabi and “critical and important” locations in the Dubai area. Saree was speaking on TV. The attack “achieved its objectives with high precision,” it said. UAE authorities have not reported the Houthi attack on Dubai.
“We are ready to expand operations in the next phase and will respond to escalation with escalation,” Saree said.
According to previous reports, Yemen’s Houthis attacked several areas in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on January 17, killing three people. The UAE authorities responded at the time: “We condemn the Houthi attacks on civilian areas and facilities in the UAE. The UAE reserves the right to respond to terrorist attacks.”
On January 18, the Saudi-led military coalition carried out airstrikes on Houthi strongholds and camps in Sana’a. A Saudi-led coalition airstrike on Sana’a killed around 20 people, a Houthi spokesman said.