Yemen's Houthis Launch Missile Attacks On UAE, US Sends Fighter Jets And Guided Missile Destroyers

Menteri Pertahanan AS Lloyd Austin. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Secretary of Defense)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) said it would send fighter jets to assist the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following missile attacks on the Gulf state launched by Yemen's Houthi movement, including an attack on a US troop base that was thwarted.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a phone call on Tuesday that Washington would send the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole to partner with the UAE navy ahead of a port visit in Abu Dhabi.

"The secretary also informed the Crown Prince of his decision to deploy 5th Generation Fighter aircraft to assist the UAE against current threats and as a clear signal that the United States supports the UAE as a long-term strategic partner," the US Department of Defense said in a statement, cited from Reuters on February 2.

Earlier, the UAE on Monday intercepted a missile during the Israeli President's visit, the third strike in two weeks claimed by an Iran-aligned group battling the Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE.

A week earlier, the US military said it had fired several Patriot missile interceptors at two incoming missiles, which the Houthis said were fired at the UAE's al-Dhafra air base.

Meanwhile, the Emirati's envoy to the United Nations last week said the UAE could improve its defense capabilities and was in discussions with the United States.

The United States will continue to provide early warning intelligence and collaborate on air defense, Minister Austin told Sheikh Mohammed, the de facto ruler of the UAE.

The attack on the UAE, a commercial and tourism hub in the region, is an escalation in the Yemen war, in which the Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia.

The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa.