UAE counterterrorist forces played 'crucial role' against Al Qaeda in Yemen

Team that will now be withdrawn works with US and UK to co-ordinate attacks on terrorists

UAE Special Forces take part in a military exercise in Abu Dhabi. The counterterrorism operatives will now be withdrawn from Yemen. AFP

Counterterrorism teams withdrawn by the UAE from Yemen were playing a “crucial role” in combating Al Qaeda and other insurgents, defence experts have told The National.

Parts of Yemen not controlled by the Houthis have had Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) operatives using the territory to launch attacks on Europe, the US and Middle East.

UAE teams have co-ordinated with American and British special forces and intelligence to help conduct strikes, including the major air operations ordered by President Donald Trump in March.

US air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

“This UAE counterterrorism team has been doing a lot, co-ordinating with international partners, and deserves credit,” said Farea Al Muslimi, a Yemen expert at the Chatham House think tank, who is based in the Middle East.

“Counterterrorism efforts will be weakened with the UAE out of Yemen,” he added. “They have done a few operations in the past, some in co-ordination with the Americans, some in co-ordination with the Brits. But aside from them [the UAE], there isn't anyone who really has done special forces operations on Al Qaeda and similar terrorist targets.”

Emirati forces and their Yemeni allies also helped reverse Houthi gains in the south. including the liberation of Aden port.

The small UAE contingent has remained in place since the main withdrawal of Emirati military personnel in 2019.

But after Saudi Arabia backed a call for Emirati forces to leave the country within 24 hours, following a Saudi-led coalition air strike on the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla, the UAE said its forces were withdrawing.

“In light of recent developments and their potential implications for the safety and effectiveness of counterterrorism missions, the Ministry of Defence announces the termination of the remaining counterterrorism personnel in Yemen of its own volition, in a manner that ensures the safety of its personnel,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The main UAE force was based at Riyan Mukalla International Airport, with access to fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, but also operated smaller contingents in the port town Balhaf and Shabwa.

The site of the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, carried out by AQAP terrorists in 2015. AP

It is understood it also flew a number of drones from the airbase that were able to track terrorist movements, pass information back to its allies and assisted special forces' missions.

A British defence source, with connections to the region, disclosed that the UAE counterterrorism outfit had played a “crucial role” in co-ordinating action against AQAP and ISIS.

“They have done a bunch of operations ... going after special sleeper cells across their area of operations in Yemen,” he said.

Mr Al Muslimi confirmed the counterterrorism team had been targeting AQAP in Abyan, Hadramout and Al Bayda.

He said Al Qaeda remained “strong” throughout Yemen and was “busy every now and then, with different priorities, different leadership".

But he warned that it remained “a strategic threat for Yemen, in my opinion, and for the world”.

AQAP was behind the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris in 2015, in which its operatives killed 12 people at the magazine office. It has also mounted attacks in the US, including the shooting of three Navy personnel in 2019 and the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight in 2009.

“Without the Emirate’s CT team in place, it is certainly going to make things more challenging taking on Al Qaeda in Yemen,” the British source said.