UAE drones: UAE says missiles, drones used in attack, some intercepted

It is the first time the UAE has publicly discussed its security concerns, the first time it said missiles were used in the attack that killed three civilians in Abu Dhabi, and the first time it claimed to have intercepted some weapons.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed it carried out the attack using five ballistic missiles and some drones. Abu Dhabi police have said they found part of a small aircraft that may have been a drone, but made no mention of the missile.

“Several attacks – a combination of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones – targeted civilian sites in the UAE. There are several was intercepted.”

In response to the attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday his administration was considering redesignating the Houthis as an international terrorist organization. The Biden administration rescinded the designation last February. The UAE has called for it to be reinstated.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen. While the UAE said in 2020 that it had withdrawn its own forces, it has armed and trained Yemeni forces to fight the Houthis this year in the energy-producing Shabwa and Marib regions.

In his comments to JINSA, Otaiba said the UAE “left the war in Yemen long ago”. “Attack on a country that is not fighting is a very clear case” to restore the designation of Houthi terrorists.