| Marib Tochka missile attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theYemeni Civil War (2014–present) and theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen | |||||||
 Picture of anOTR-21 Tochka missile launcher | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None |  36 pro-Hadi soldiers killed 52 soldiers killed[1] 10 soldiers killed 5 soldiers killed[2][3] | ||||||
On 4 September 2015, theHouthis launched anOTR-21 Tochka ballistic missile against a military base in Safer, an area inMarib Governorate.[4][5] The base was being used by military forces of theSaudi-led coalition. The missile hit an ammunition dump, creating a huge explosion which inflicted numerous casualties among coalition troops. 52Emirati,[1] tenSaudi, fiveBahraini soldiers and 36 pro-HadiYemeni troops were killed in the attack.[2][3]
TheUnited Arab Emirates Air ForceF16F Block 60 conducted several airstrikes onMarib,Sanaa, andSaada in retaliation for the attack, which was described as "the heaviest airstrikes Sanaa endured". The UAEAF also bombed the position from which the missile was believed to have been fired.[6]
The United Arab Emirates declared a three-day period of mourning with theUAE flag flying athalf-mast in honor of the soldiers killed in Yemen,[7] the deadliest episode in UAE army history.[1] The UAE leaders, including sheikhMohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, sheikhMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the sheikhs of theFederal Supreme Council, visited the family homes of each of the fallen soldiers and offered their condolences.[8]
United States Secretary of StateJohn Kerry offered his condolences to the UAE Foreign MinisterAbdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the death of the Emirati soldiers.[6]
