The four Emirati soldiers killed in Yemen on Tuesday have been brought home to full ceremony.
The General Command of the Armed Forces announced that the soldiers died in suicide bombings in Aden on Tuesday.
They were Ahmed Khamis Al Hammadi and Mohammed Khalfan Al Seyabi of Abu Dhabi, Ali Khamis Al Ketbi of Al Ain, and Yousef Salem Al Kaabi of Fujairah.
“We are still investigating this incident that took the lives of four of our sons,” Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told Abu Dhabi TV.
“All the indications point to it being a terrorist attack that targeted locations where the Yemeni government has been operating and other buildings used by the coalition troops.”
Dr Gargash said there were conflicting reports and the Armed Forces were awaiting “conclusive answers”.
The soldiers’ bodies were to be repatriated to Al Bateen Airport on Wednesday morning with full military honours. Funerals will be held on Wednesday, and their families will receive well-wishers at their homes, where condolence tents are set up.
Hundreds of Emiratis took to Twitter after the announcement, with expressions of solidarity for the families.
Hashtags #UAEMartyrs and #TheMartyrsCountry trended on Twitter, the same hashtags used after 52 servicemen died on September 4 in a rocket attack by Houthi rebels on an ammunition store. The General Command extended its condolences to relatives.
A ceremony was held at Al Bateen Airport on Tuesday as the body of Khamis Rashid Al Abdouly was brought home. The soldier succumbed to injuries on Sunday from the rocket attack, following treatment in Germany. An army helicopter carried his coffin to his family in Fujairah.
The death toll of UAE soldiers killed in Yemen since September 4 is 58.
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(via The National)
