Two ballistic missiles target Abu Dhabi

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two ballistic missiles targeting the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were intercepted on Monday morning, the Emirati defense ministry said a week after Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a drone attack that left several people dead and injured.

The air defense "had intercepted and destroyed” two ballistic missiles allegedly fired by the Houthis towards the country, Emirati state media (WAM) reported the ministry as saying.

The attack did not result in any human losses as “the remnants of the intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles fell in separate areas around Abu Dhabi,” it added.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack later in the morning, noting that they have also launched an offensive with a "large number of drones" on Dubai. 

The offensive comes exactly a week after a drone attack killed three foreign nationals and wounded six others in Abu Dhabi. 

The spokesperson to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ military in Yemen, who see the UAE as a regional foe, took to Twitter following the strike at the time.

“An important statement for the armed forces to announce a one of a kind military operation in the UAE in the coming hours,” Yehia Sari’ said last week. 

The UAE called for a UN Security Council meeting following the attack, WAM reported on Tuesday. 

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led alliance that launched an air and military campaign against Houthi rebels in 2015 following the start of the civil war between the Saudi-backed Yemen government and the Houthis.

Iran’s support for Houthi rebels in the Yemeni civil war since late 2014 has caused concerns for both Saudi and Emirati establishments.

Updated at 12:15 pm