DUBAI (Reuters) -The United Arab Emirates intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles targeting the Gulf country on Monday with no casualties, its defence ministry said, following a deadly attack https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-says-missiles-drones-used-attack-some-intercepted-2022-01-20 a week earlier.

The Houthis, a Saudi-led alliance that also includes the UAE has been fighting them for six years. They have repeatedly launched drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia and then launched an unprecedented attack on the UAE in January 2017.

Ministry of Defense stated, “The remains of the intercepted nuclear missiles fell in distinct areas around Abu Dhabi”, and that it had taken all precautionary measures to protect against future attacks.

The National, a UAE newspaper reported that residents saw flashes of light in the sky above the capital at 4:30 AM (12:30 AM GMT).

Monday’s attack was the second to hit UAE soil since last Wednesday’s strike, when three people were killed at a fuel depot near Abu Dhabi. It also caused a large fire nearby its international airport.[S8N2QO04R]

Houthi television Al Masirah said Al Masirah would soon announce details of an “widening military operation” against Saudi Arabia.

Early Monday morning, Saudi state media reported that the coalition had intercepted a ballistic-missile. The remnants damaged workshops and vehicles in south Saudi Arabia. It said late on Sunday that a ballistic missile fell in the south, injuring https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-led-coalition-says-houthi-missile-fell-industrial-zone-2022-01-23 two foreigners and causing damage in an industrial area.

Most people view the Yemen conflict as a proxy war between Saudi Arabian and Iranian.

Along with the United States, the United Nations has been trying to broker a ceasefire in Yemen.

Saudi-led coalition has increased its air strike against Houthi targets in Yemen.

At least 60 people were killed in a strike on a temporary detention centre https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/another-crime-say-survivors-coalition-strikes-yemeni-detention-centre-2022-01-22 in northern Saada province on Friday, and about 20 were killed in the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa in an operation on Tuesday.

After the Houthis had removed Sanaa’s internationally recognized government, the coalition entered Yemeni in March 2015. It claims it’s fighting corruption and foreign aggravation.

In 2019, the UAE reduced its presence in Yemen due to a military impasse. However, Emirati-backed Yemeni troops had joined combat operations against Houthis forces in key oil producing areas in Yemen.