UAE soldier dies in Yemen

An Emirati serviceman who was part of the Arab coalition’s Operation Restoring Hope has died in Yemen.

The General Command of the UAE Armed Forces announced that serviceman Rashid Ahmed Abdullah Al Habsi died while on duty, official news agency WAM reported.

Al Habsi’s body arrived at Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport onboard a military aircraft of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence on Monday.

Senior military officers conducted a special military ceremony at the airport, WAM reported.

The UAE Armed Forces offered its condolences to his family.

The Saudi-led Operation Restoring Hope began conducting air strikes against Houthi rebels in March last year in a bid to restore Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government in the country.

Since then, the UAE and other Arab countries have seen casualty numbers grow as they intensify their offensive.

In September last year, at least 50 soldiers from the UAE, 10 from Saudi Arabia, five from Bahrain and four from Yemen were killed after a Houthi rocket hit an ammunition depot in Yemen’s Marib province.

Coordinated attacks by militant group ISIL also killed almost 22 people including four UAE soldiers in Yemen.

However, the coalition remains committed to its cause, according to officials.