Why did the Iran-backed Houthis target a UAE Airbase that hosts US forces

Source
by : Yemen Details
The Houthi attacks have been escalated in recent days using missiles and drones on the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE Ministry of Defense said, on Monday, that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis on the capital Abu Dhabi, targeting the Al Dhafra air base, that hosts US and international forces.

On January 17, 2022, the Houthis launched an attack on Abu Dhabi with missiles and drones, killing 3 people.

Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, announced that the Al Dhafra air base, which houses US military forces, and other sensitive targets in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, was targeted with a number of missiles.

In a video statement posted on his Twitter account, he added that the operation, also included targeting vital sites in Dubai with “Sumad-3” drones.

Saree added that these operations came in response to the escalation of what he described as “the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression”.

In turn, the US Air Force Command in the Middle East confirmed that its forces had taken shelter at Al Dhafra base, during the Houthi missile attack.

The Associated Press quoted the US Air Force Command at Al Dhafra base as saying that it “dealed with the threats of the Abu Dhabi attack,” but it did not clarify whether the Houthi missiles were intercepted from inside the base, but warned its citizens in the UAE.

However, regional officials believe that the Houthi militia wanted to target US forces at the Al Dhafra base, citing the statement of Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree’ that their attacks came in response to the escalation of what he described as “US-Saudi-Emirati aggression.”

In the context, US officials and experts confirmed that the Biden administration’s policy toward Yemen is under severe criticism from Capitol Hill, Congress, their allies, and high-ranking officials. They stressed that the Biden administration’s leniency with the Houthi group enabled Iran to seize the opportunity to arm and train its Yemeni agent.

Al Dhafra Air Base

Al Dhafra Air Base is a military installation in the United Arab Emirates. The base is located approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of Abu Dhabi and is operated by the United Arab Emirates Air Force.

Al Dhafra hosts the United States Air Force’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing (380 AEW), which was established at the base on 25 January 2002. The 380 AEW’s mission is to carry out combat operations to provide high-altitude all-weather intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, airborne command and control and air-refueling for the military intervention against ISIL/ISIS (known by the US military as Operation Inherent Resolve) and NATO led operations in Afghanistan (Operation Resolute Support). The wing is known to have operated the F-15C Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-22A Raptor, KC-10A Extender, E-3 Sentry (AWACS) U-2S Dragon Lady and EQ-4 and RQ-4 Global Hawk. The first USAF F-35 Lightning II deployed to the Middle East was deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base in April 2019.

The US military presence at the base was only acknowledged officially by the US Air Force in August 2017, despite the US military being present since the early 1990s.

As of 2020, contractor activity at Al Dhafra on behalf of the US military includes Abacus Technology Corp. information technology, Centurum information technology, and construction projects.