JAKARTA - Yemen's Houthi movement, which is allied with Iran, launched a missile attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday targeting a base housing the United States (US) military but was thwarted by Patriot interceptors, US and Emirati officials said.
The attack, which saw US troops shelter in the bunker, was the second in a week in the UAE, a tourism and commercial hub in the Gulf region. On January 17, the Houthis attacked a fuel depot in Abu Dhabi, killing three people.
The Houthis, who are battling a Saudi-led military coalition that includes the UAE, say they aim to punish the Gulf state for supporting militias that hinder their efforts to seize oil-producing areas in Yemen.
A Houthi military spokesman said the group had fired a Zulfiqar ballistic missile at the Al-Dhafra airbase, which is used by US forces and other sensitive targets. He said it had also launched drones into Dubai.
"We advise foreign companies and investors in the UAE to leave because it is becoming unsafe," he said, adding the group was prepared "to face escalation with escalation," he said.
Meanwhile, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, part of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), called the attack a "criminal escalation" and said it reserves the right to respond.
The US military said it had fired multiple Patriot missile interceptors at the two incoming missiles, and acknowledged the simultaneous efforts by the UAE military.
"Combined efforts were successful in preventing the two missiles from hitting the base," said a spokesman for US Central Command, which represents US forces in the Middle East.
Separately, UAE Ambassador to Washington Yousef al Otaiba tweeted that close cooperation with the United States had helped to fend off the attack. Meanwhile, the US State Department reaffirmed Washington's commitment to strengthening the defenses of its Saudi and Emirati partners.
In response, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Houthi attacks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, represented a "disturbing escalation" in violence. He also called for a ceasefire.
Price declined to say whether the administration of US President Joe Biden would agree to the UAE's request to return the Houthis to the US list of foreign terrorist groups, reimposing financial sanctions on them. President Biden was known last week to say the request was being considered.
But Price noted the group was removed from the list last February because of concerns the sanctions could result in cuts in humanitarian aid and commercial imports of food and other necessities to areas controlled by the Houthis.
"We are looking at the appropriate response," said Price.
The Houthis have repeatedly carried out cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. But by targeting the UAE, they have increased the risk of a conflict that is largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Meanwhile, airstrikes in Yemen, which the Saudi-led coalition says are aimed at crippling the Houthis' capabilities, killed at least 60 people in Saada province on Friday, and about 20 in the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, on Tuesday.
The US Embassy issued a rare security warning to the UAE, urging its citizens to "maintain a high level of security awareness."
"This is really escalating and changing regional dynamics," said Karen Young, director of the Middle East Institute's Economics and Energy Program.
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"GCC security now has a risk calculation that is close to what we know in other parts of the Middle East," he said, citing potential risks to energy pipelines and production facilities as well as civil aviation.
The UAE published a video it said was an F-16 fighter plane destroying a Houthi missile launcher in Yemen.
The Houthis on Monday said they also attacked Saudi Arabia, which reported material damage from the remains of an intercepted missile in the southern industrial area. Earlier on Sunday night, a missile fell in another southern region, wounding two foreigners.
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