The UAE on Friday announced the deaths of 22 soldiers deployed in Yemen as part of a Saudi-led coalition battling rebels, with Yemeni military sources blaming an “accidental explosion”.
The United Arab Emirates armed forces, in a statement carried by state news agency WAM, did not disclose the circumstances of what was its highest casualty toll of the operation against Shiite <g data-gr-id="17">Huthi</g> insurgents.
But Yemeni military sources said Arab coalition soldiers were among those killed today in an accidental blast at an ammunition store in the eastern oil province of Marib. The blast at a military base in Safer, 250 kilometres east of <g data-gr-id="18">Sanaa,</g> also killed several Yemenis, a source at the scene said.
The UAE, a longtime Western ally, is a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition that in March launched air strikes against the Huthis as they advanced on the southern port city of Aden, forcing President
Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
The Huthis had seized the capital Sanaa in September 2014.