Alwaght- Yemen resistance forces have launched their first ever retaliatory attack on the Abu Dhabi International Airport, Thursday, targeting one of the installation’s large terminals.
A Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Yemeni soldiers and their allies attacked UAE’s Abu Dhabi International Airport using a domestically-built long-endurance Sammad-3 (Invincible-3) unmanned aerial vehicle.
Meanwhile, Abdullah al-Jafri, a spokesman for Yemeni air force and air defense, said the drone attack on Abu Dhabi International Airport had halted flights to and from the airport, adding that this was the first time that Yemeni forces used a drone to attack the airport. "Our attack on Abu Dhabi airport shows our forces are no paper tiger like our enemies claim," Jafri told Al-Masirah TV on the phone.
"They mocked us before, but let me make it clear that the next stage will be targeting the infrastructure of our enemies in Saudi and the UAE."
The attack was in retaliation for UAE’s support for the ongoing Saudi-led devastating military aggression against Yemen.
According to Yemeni Al-Masirah television channel, the Sammad-3 drone launched three strikes on the airport on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if there was any damage or casualties.
An Ansarullah military source said the armed drone flew 1,500km before it reached Abu Dhabi's airport. UAE authorities have confirmed an incident at the airport.
“Abu Dhabi Airports can confirm that there has been an incident involving a supply vehicle in Terminal 1 airside area of the airport at approximately 4:00 pm today. This incident has not affected operations at AUH and flights continue to arrive and depart as scheduled,” the Abu Dhabi International Airport’s official Twitter account tweeted this afternoon.
The retaliatory attack came a day after Yemeni forces targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, prompting Riyadh to temporarily suspend the transport of oil supplies through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Nearly 15,000 Yemenis, mostly women, children and the elderly, have been killed since March 2015 when the Saudi regime launched a brutal military campaign against the impoverished state.
The United Nations has called the war in Yemen the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
More than 20 million Yemenis need aid, millions are on the brink of famine, and hundreds of thousands have been infected with diseases, mostly cholera.
