Dubai – US F-22 fighter jets arrived in the United Arab Emirates onSaturday, part of an American defence response to recent missile attacks byYemen’s Houthi rebels targeting the country.
The Raptors landed at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, which hosts some2,000 US troops. American soldiers there launched Patriot interceptormissiles in response to the Houthi attacks last month, the first time UStroops have fired the system in combat since the 2003 US-led invasion ofIraq. American officials declined to say how many F-22s deployed or thenumber of airmen supporting the aircraft, citing operational security.However, they identified the unit involved as the 1st Fighter Wing, locatedat Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. A photo later released by the AirForce showed six F-22s in a line on a taxiway at Al-Dhafra.
The Raptors presence will bolster already strong partner nation defencesand puts destabilising forces on notice that the US and our partners arecommitted to enabling peace and stability in the region,” Lt. Gen. GregGuillot, the commander of the US Air Force’s Mideast command, said in astatement.
The deployment comes after the Iranian-backed Houthis launched threeattacks targeting Abu Dhabi last month, including one targeting a fueldepot that killed three people and wounded six. The attacks coincided withvisits by presidents from South Korea and Israel to the country.
Read Top Stories
A shadowy Iraqi group claimed launching a drone attack targeting theEmirates in early February, though authorities say they intercepted them.Though overshadowed by the Ukraine crisis, the missile fire targeting theEmirates has sparked a major US response. The American military has sentthe USS Cole on a mission to Abu Dhabi.
The spillover of Yemen’s yearslong war into the UAE puts American troops inthe crosshairs of the Houthi attacks and raises the risk of a regionalescalation at a crucial moment of talks in Vienna to potentially restoreIran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
