Forty-five military personnel from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were killed in a missile attack by Houthi rebels in central Yemen near the Saudi border.
The troops were killed on Friday when a rebel missile hit an ammunition depot, UAE's junior foreign affairs minister Anwar Gangash said on his Twitter account, reported the Associated Press.
"A rocket and an explosion at a weapons cache has targeted the martyrs," Gargash said, according to RT. Twenty-two soldiers were killed on the spot, while 23 others succumbed to injuries hours later.
The deadly attack took place at a military base in Safer in Yemen's oil-rich Marib Province, around 75 miles east of capital Saana. The attack was the deadliest ever for the Saudi-led coalition since it launched an offensive in March, AFP reported.
"The sons of the UAE continue to show resilience and bravery in support of our Yemeni brothers against injustice and aggression," crown prince and deputy commander of UAE armed forces Skheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said.
UAE is part of a coalition of Arab countries led by South Arabia, which has been fighting since March in a bid to restore power to former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. The coalition has been engaged in continuous airstrikes on Iran-supported Houthi militia positions in order to repel them from Yemen.
Nearly 4,500 people, including more than 2,000 civilians, have died in Yemen fighting since March as per United Nations figures, according to BBC News.
