The US military launched interceptor missiles during an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that targeted the United Arab Emirates during a visit by Israel’s president, the second-such time American troops have opened fire, officials said.

The acknowledgement by the White House and Pentagon represents a widening American involvement in Yemen’s long war, a conflict that US President Joe Biden declared nearly a year ago “has to end”.

While the US has ended offensive support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government, their involvement in defending the UAE comes as the rebel Houthis have declared Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi a target.

Persian Gulf Tensions
US troops work near a Patriot missile battery at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi (Staff Sgt. Jao’Torey Johnson/U.S. Air Force via AP/PA)

Al-Dhafra hosts some 2,000 American troops and has served as a major base of operations for everything from armed drones to F-35 stealth fighters.

Speaking from the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki said the US military “responded to an inbound missile threat on the UAE”.

She added: “This involved the employment of Patriot interceptors to … (support) efforts by the armed forces of the UAE. I would say we are working quite closely with them.”

At the Pentagon, press secretary John Kirby said that “US patriots were fired, but it was the Emirati surface-to-air missiles that actually engaged the targets”.

Asked if that would include targets outside of Al-Dhafra, Mr Kirby said: “ If we can help defend our Emirati partners, we’re going to do that.”

The Emirati military, as with a similar attack last week, did not acknowledge that the American military opened fire. The autocratic UAE has threatened criminal charges against anyone filming an attack or outgoing interceptor fire.

The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency reported Monday’s interception, saying “the attack did not result in any losses, as the remnants of the ballistic missile fell outside the populated areas”.

The attack came just before Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Dubai Expo 2020.

An attack on January 17 on Abu Dhabi by the Houthis killed three people and wounded six at an Abu Dhabi National Oil fuel depot near Al-Dhafra.