The UAE says 45 of its soldiers engaged in a Saudi-led campaign against Shi'ite rebels in Yemen have been killed in an accidental explosion that the insurgents claimed was caused by rocket fire.
In what was the deadliest day for the coalition since it was formed in March, Bahrain said five of its soldiers guarding the Saudi border with Yemen were also killed.
The Yemeni government said an "accidental explosion" at an arms depot at a military base in the eastern province of Marib killed the Emiratis, but the rebels said their fighters fired a rocket that caused the blast.
Coalition ally Bahrain said five of its soldiers were killed in southern Saudi Arabia where they had been posted to help defend the border with war-wracked Yemen. It did not give a precise location.
However, Yemen's exiled presidency said the Bahrainis died in the same blast that killed the Emiratis.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, head of the UAE armed forces, underlined in a tweet his country's "determination" to continue supporting the Yemenis against "injustice and aggression".
The coalition has battled Iran-backed Huthi rebels to restore the rule of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, exiled in Riyadh.
Around 60 people, mainly military personnel, have died in cross-border rebel attacks in the south of the Saudi kingdom since the coalition began air strikes on the Huthis and their allies.
The campaign began as the Huthis advanced on the southern port of Aden, after they took control of the capital Sanaa last September.
The UAE armed forces, in a statement carried by state news agency WAM, did not disclose the circumstances of what was its highest casualty toll of the six-month-old air war.
Friday's coalition losses came as Saudi King Salman was in Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama at which Yemen figured high on the agenda.
Obama said the two sides "share concerns" about the need to restore a functioning government in Yemen and relieve an urgent humanitarian crisis.
The United States has supported the coalition effort, but repeatedly warned about the effect the fighting has had on civilians.
More than 4500 people have been killed in the conflict, including hundreds of children, according to the United Nations, which has warned that the impoverished country is on the brink of famine.
Share
