The United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to be a target in the region, but the most recent drone attack against them, on Wednesday, appears not to have been by Yemen’s Houthis, as generally assumed.
Rather, an Iraqi group calling itself the True Promises Brigade (Awliyat al-Waad al-Haq) took credit, saying they were retaliating for UAE policies in Iraq and Yemen both. The UAE intercepted the drones and foiled the attack.
Not much is known about this militia, though reports suggest that they are aligned in some way with Ketaib Hezbollah. The group had previously claimed credit for a drone strike in Saudi Arabia back in January of 2021, and then no other attacks for an entire year.
This suggests the group, while apparently having the capacity to carry out such attacks, is not a primary ongoing threat. Still, they are further complicating the situation in and around Yemen.
Influential Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was deeply critical of the attack, saying Iraqi “outlaw groups” should not try to make Iraqi territory a launching pad for attacks on other countries. He further called for an end to the Yemen War through diplomacy.
Well, good.