The Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib Hezbollah, which are both subdivisions of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi, have felicitated the Yemeni Armed Forces on their successful retaliatory operation deep inside the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, Asa’ib Secretary General Qais Khazali offered congratulations to “the oppressed Yemeni brothers, who defend their country and nation against the cruel aggression of an oppressive coalition that has allowed the shedding of the blood of Yemeni children, women and the elderly. The UAE rulers have a long history in this aggression.”
“We congratulate the Yemenis on their amazing progress in deterrent power and revolutionary spirit that they have achieved despite all the pain and suffering caused by the arrogance of evil powers,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces said Yemeni troops had launched the military operation “deep inside the UAE” in retaliation for its role in a protracted war on the impoverished country.
Operation Hurricane Yemen was successfully carried out with five ballistic missiles and a large number of drones, Brigadier General Yahya Saree explained.
It targeted the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports, the Musaffah oil refinery in Abu Dhabi, and a number of important and sensitive Emirati sites and facilities.
Abu Dhabi police said three people were killed and six others wounded in the attack.
Khazali further cautioned the Emirati officials against meddling in Iraq’s domestic affairs.
"We also warn the rulers of the small country of the UAE, who have compromised with the Zionists, about the consequences of interfering in Iraqi affairs and sowing discord among our free and honorable nation. The Iraqis have not allowed you or anyone else, and they will never let you, aggressively keep violating Iraq’s sovereignty and threatening its national security and peace.”
Also on Monday, Abu Ali Al-Askari, a Kata’ib security official, hailed the Yemeni strikes against the UAE.
"Resistance is the right of oppressed nations to stop the killing of their children and the destruction of their countries," he said.
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on its southern neighbor in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies, such as the UAE, and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western countries.
The aim was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah movement which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.
The offensive has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians and turning the entirety of Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The Yemeni forces have pledged to continue their retaliatory attacks until the devastating Saudi war and crippling all-out siege on their country come to an end.