Operation 'Al Maliki': UAE fighter jets strike Houthi targets in Yemen

UAE fighter jets launched successful air strikes against a number of Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen.

The air strike, dubbed ‘Al Maliki Operation' in memory of Sulieman bin Ali Al Harazi Al Maliki, the first Saudi soldier killed in Operation ‘Decisive Storm’ as part of Saudi-led Arab coalition of ten nations to reinstate legitimacy in Yemen.

The Saudi Border Guard soldier became the first martyr of Operation Decisive Storm when he was killed in a firefight with Houthi infiltrators on the Saudi-Yemen border early on Thursday morning.

The UAE fighter jets struck a surface-to-air missile (SAM) base and a radar site in Marib and returned safely.

Commander of the UAE squadron said the Maliki airstrike was in tribute of the Saudi martyr and it underscored ''our standing with our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's armed forces and air forces and the leadership, government and people of the KSA under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.''

He added that the operation also underlined the UAE's active engagement in the international coalition against the Houthi rebels and militias.

He extended deepest condolences to the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to the family of the martyr, saying that he was an example of honourable men who sacrificed their lives in defence of their homeland with high loyalty and dedication.

He was doing his patriotic duty. He expressed the pride of UAE force in the KSA to follow orders from the UAE leadership and answer the call of duty in standing with the KSA.

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