Houthi ballistic missiles intercepted in UAE, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has said three people were injured in a ballistic missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels. 

A missile struck a number of workshops in the southern Jazan region, Mohammad al-Hammadi, a spokesman for the Saudi Civil Defence, said on Monday in statements cited by the state news agency SPA.

Two Sudanese and Bengali residents were injured in the attack, he said. 

Meanwhile, Saudi air defence intercepted another missile fired by Houthi rebels towards the southern Asir province, the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement.

Material damage was reported in the attack.

Targeting Abu Dhabi

Earlier on Monday, the United Arab Emirates has intercepted two ballistic missiles that it said was fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeting capital Abu Dhabi, state-run news agency reported.

"The remnants of the intercepted ballistic missiles fell in separate areas around Abu Dhabi," the WAM news agency reported.

The Emirates "is ready and ready to deal with any threats and that it takes all necessary measures to protect the state from all attacks," WAM quoted the UAE Defence Ministry as saying.

Videos posted to social media show the sky over the capital light up before dawn on Monday, with points of light looking like interceptor missiles in the sky. 

The videos corresponded to known features of Abu Dhabi.
The missile fire disrupted traffic into Abu Dhabi International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Etihad, for about an hour after the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, the attack came a week after Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed an attack on the Emirati capital that killed three people – expat workers – and wounded six others.

In recent days, a Saudi-led coalition that the UAE backs unleashed punishing air strikes targeting Yemen, knocking the Arab world's poorest country off the internet and killed over 80 people at a detention centre.

READ MORE: Arab bloc seeks 'terrorist' designation for Yemen's Houthi rebels

First assault against UAE

On January 17, the Houthis claimed a drone and missile attack that struck an oil facility and the airport in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, killing three people and wounding six.

It was the first deadly assault acknowledged by the UAE inside its borders and claimed by the Yemeni insurgents during a seven-year Saudi-led coalition campaign against the rebels.

On Sunday, the pan-Arab bloc, based in the Egyptian capital Cairo, said the Houthis should be designated "as a terrorist organisation".

The Emirates have had a major role in the Saudi-led coalition defending the internationally-recognised government of Yemen against the Houthis.

Although it announced a troop withdrawal from Yemen in 2019, the UAE has remained involved by supporting and training forces there.

The UN has estimated Yemen's conflict may have killed 377,000 people by the end of 2021, both directly and indirectly through hunger and disease.

READ MORE: Houthis used 'cruise and ballistic missiles' in deadly Abu Dhabi attack