Asia

Home page

Asia

UAE blocks missiles as Yemen's Houthis attack region's business hub

24 January 2022 02:36 (UTC +04:00)

The United Arab Emirates, the tourism and commercial hub of the Gulf region, on Monday said it had foiled a second missile attack by Yemen's Iranian-aligned Houthi movement group, which last week hit a fuel depot in Abu Dhabi, killing three people, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The Houthis, battling a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE, have said they aim to punish the UAE for backing militias that are blocking their attempts to capture oil-producing regions in Yemen.

The foreign ministry of the UAE, part of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), called the attack a "criminal escalation" and said it had a right to respond.

The Houthis have repeatedly carried out cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, but with their first attack on the UAE on Jan. 17 raised the stakes of a conflict largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.