The Saudi-led coalition held on to its promise to launch retaliatory attacks against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after it carried out air strikes against Yemen’s rebel-held capital of Sanaa on Tuesday, which left 11 people dead.
Akram al-Ahdal, a relative of some of the victims, confirmed the total number of dead.
“The search is still going on for survivors in the rubble,” Ahdal said.
Ahdal said the air strikes hit two houses, leaving them damaged.
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Al-Ekhbariya TV tweeted on Tuesday that the coalition launched fresh strikes “targeting Houthi camps and headquarters” in Sanaa.
The air strikes by Saudi-led coalition was done in retaliation to the Houthi rebels’ rare and deadly drone attacks on United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, which killed three people and wounded six others.
The Houthi rebels’ deadly assault on UAE triggered a fuel tank blast that instantly killed three people in the capital city of Abu Dhabi.
The Houthis’ minister of information was quoted as saying that the “attack inside the UAE is to teach them a lesson, in order to stop their involvement and participation in the Saudi-led coalition.”
Yahya Saree, military spokesperson of the Houthis, has urged civilians and foreign firms to “stay away from vital installations” in the UAE for “their own security.”
The UAE, which is part of the Saudi-led pro-government coalition that is fighting rebel forces, warned of retaliatory attacks.
The Houthis have carried out repeated cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia but Monday’s attack against UAE was the first, which Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, described as a “heinous criminal escalation.”
“We condemn the Houthi terrorist militia’s targeting of civilian areas and facilities on UAE soil today. This sinful targeting will not go unpunished,” Al-Nahyan said in a statement.
Anwar Gargash, Emirati presidential adviser, also said the UAE government condemned the “heinous” attack and authorities are now dealing with it.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also condemned the drone attacks.
Analysts said the deadly attack on UAE jeopardizes the country’s reputation as a haven for tourism and trade.
Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, said the attack brings home to the UAE that they were playing the game of a major power in the region.
“It made the Gulf country realize that they are, after all, a small state with a lot of vulnerabilities,” Krieg said.
He claimed that the incident is a greatest damage to the reputation of the UAE because they have always portrayed themselves as a safe and secure country to do business.
Philippine News Network 