Page 24 - MIN JUS 8 SEPT 2015
P. 24
WORLD NEWS 9
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Gulf stiffens determination in wake of troop deaths in Yemen
ADAM SCHRECK els that the Gulf states see In this Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 photo taken during a media tour, wounded Emirati soldier Moham-
Associated Press as little more than tools of med al-Balooshi rests on his bed at the Zayed Military Hospital in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- Tehran. Iran supports the For many in the Gulf, Yemen, with its Iranian-backed Shiite rebels, has become a key battleground
ates (AP) — A deadly at- Houthis politically but de- in a Middle Eastern twist on the Cold War domino theory: if Iran cannot be checked in Yemen, it
tack late last week on nies arming them. could ramp up pressure in the Shiite-majority Bahrain and elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula.
soldiers from oil-rich Gulf The Gulf nation of Qatar
states deployed in Yemen significantly ramped up its (AP Photo)
as part of a Saudi-led co- involvement in the con-
alition fighting the coun- flict on Monday, deploying an honor typically reserved ing from the attack. gic decision to defend and
try’s Shiite rebels may well about 1,000 ground troops for the country’s top lead- The managing editor of the preserve the security and
have been designed to backed by armored vehi- ers. Sheikh Mohammed widely read UAE daily Gulf stability of the Gulf strate-
break the coalition’s will. If cles and Apache helicop- and other top govern- News, Mohammed Alme- gic hemisphere.”
that was the aim, it back- ters, according to Yemeni ment officials visited fami- zel, suggested in an op- “The cowardly attack in
fired. officials and the Qatar- lies of killed soldiers. Out- ed that the deaths were Marib will not intimidate
Instead, the killing of doz- based Al Jazeera televi- side medical clinics, Emi- a “Pearl Harbor moment” the Arab coalition into ab-
ens of troops — most of sion. Qatar neither con- rati men in traditional white that will strengthen the dicating its responsibility of
them from the United Arab firmed nor denied its role. garments known as thobes Emirates’ determination in defending justice and sup-
Emirates — has upended “Our armed forces ... are have been lining up to give Yemen. He described the porting the right of the Ye-
much of the ambigu- more resolved and deter- blood for those still recover- fight as “part of a strate- meni people,” he wrote.q
ity about the U.S.-backed mined to liberate Yemen
coalition’s boots-on-the- and flush out the scum
ground role in Yemen and after the tragic incident,”
is prompting the alliance Sheikh Mohammed bin Za-
to intensify what has effec- yed Al Nahyan, the power-
tively become a proxy war ful Abu Dhabi crown prince
against Iran. In the eyes and deputy supreme com-
of many across the Sunni- mander of the UAE armed
ruled Gulf states, Yemen forces, assured visiting Ye-
— with its Iranian-backed meni President Abed Rab-
Houthis — has become bo Mansour Hadi after the
a key battleground in a attack.
Middle Eastern twist on the Radio stations across the
Cold War domino theory: if UAE have replaced their
Iran cannot be checked in usual upbeat fare with
Yemen, the thinking goes, Quranic recitations and
it could ramp up the pres- classical music to mark
sure in Shiite-majority Bah- three days of mourning
rain and elsewhere in the commemorating the un-
region. The missile assault precedented war loss —
on Friday struck an ammu-
nition depot in the Yemeni Officials:
province of Marib, about
120 kilometers (75 miles) Iraqi defense minister unharmed in sniper attack
east of the capital, Sanaa.
Hardest hit in the attack SINAN SALAHEDDIN One guard was wounded, ducting airstrikes to target Rami Abdurrahman, who
was the UAE, a federa- Associated Press the statement said, without the Islamic State group heads the Britain-based
tion of seven states that BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s de- elaborating. across both Syria and Iraq. Syrian Observatory for Hu-
includes Dubai and the fense minister escaped a The Islamic State group In Syria, activists said Islamic man Rights, said Monday
oil-rich capital, Abu Dhabi, sniper attack north of Bagh- holds about a third of Iraq State militants captured the that all the engineers work-
which lost 45 soldiers. Ten dad unharmed Monday, and neighboring Syria in its Jazal oil field late Sunday ing in the field moved to
Saudis were killed in the officials said, though one self-declared “caliphate.” after intense clashes with the nearby government-
blast too. Bahrain also lost of his guards was wounded Beiji, home to the coun- government forces in the controlled Shaer gas field.
five soldiers, though it was in the shooting near Islamic try’s biggest refinery, has area in the central prov- He said government troops
not clear if they were killed State-controlled territory. been under near-constant ince of Homs. Syria-based withdrew from the field but
in the same incident. The attack targeted De- assault since Islamic State activist Bebars al-Talawy now overlook parts of it.
Emirati fighter planes have fense Minister Khaled al- militants swept into Iraq said via Skype that Islamic Islamic State fighters con-
responded to the attack Obeidi as he traveled in a last year, though authori- State fighters first attacked trol much of Syria’s oil
by pounding positions and convoy near the contested ties said they liberated the army posts around the fields that are mostly in the
arms caches used by Ira- oil refinery town of Beiji, a town in November. Jazal field, then stormed eastern regions bordering
nian-backed Shiite rebels ministry statement said. A U.S.-led coalition is con- the field. Iraq.q
known as Houthis — reb-
