UAE says 3 'hostile' drones intercepted in 4th such attack
ABC News
The United Arab Emirates military says it has intercepted several drones fired at the country in the fourth such recent attack on the federation
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates intercepted several drones fired at the country at dawn Wednesday, the UAE military said, the fourth such attack on the federation in recent weeks.
It didn’t specify who launched the drones and from where but suspicion fell on Yemen’s Iran-backed rebel Houthis. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for several drone and missile attacks on the UAE that have widened Yemen’s 7-year-old civil war and fueled regional tensions.
In a short statement just before midnight Wednesday on Twitter, the Emirati Defense Ministry said it had destroyed three “hostile drones” that targeted the UAE at dawn. It said the interception occurred “away from populated areas,” without elaborating.
The Houthis have been battling a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE since 2015 after the rebels took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The war reached Emirati soil for the first time last month, when the Houthis fired drones and missiles at the country. U.S. and Emirati forces have jointly intercepted the past two aerial attacks, including one earlier this week as Israel’s president began a historic visit to the Gulf Arab country.