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Three killed in suspected Houthi drone attacks in UAE: Live | Houthis News

Three killed in suspected Houthi drone attacks in UAE: Live | Houthis News

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A suspected drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting a key oil facility in Abu Dhabi killed three people and started a separate fire at Abu Dhabi’s international airport, police said.

Police in the United Arab Emirates identified the dead as two Indian nationals and one Pakistani.

“Small flying objects” were found as three petrol tanks exploded in an industrial area and a fire was ignited at the airport, police said, as Houthi rebels announced “military operations” in the UAE.

The UAE which had largely scaled down its military presence in Yemen in 2019, continues to hold sway through the Yemeni forces it armed and trained.

Drone attacks are a hallmark of the Houthis’ assaults on Saudi Arabia, the UAE ally that is leading the coalition fighting for Yemen’s government in the grinding civil war.

Yemen’s conflict has been a catastrophe for millions of its citizens who have fled their homes, with many on the brink of famine, in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Here are the latest updates:

Bahrain ‘strongly condemns’ Houthi attack

Bahrain condemned what it described as a “cowardly terrorist attack”.

In a statement carried by Bahrain’s official state news agency, the foreign affairs ministry said the kingdom “denounces this Houthi attack”.

The Kingdom stands “in solidarity with the United Arab Emirates and all the measures it will take to confront such cowardly attacks,” BNA reported.

UAE condemns ‘heinous Houthi attack’

The UAE condemned a “heinous” attack it blamed on the Houthi rebels.

“UAE authorities… are dealing… with the heinous Houthi attack on some civilian installations in Abu Dhabi,” tweeted presidential advisor Anwar Gargash, referring to the Yemeni rebels.

Houthis ‘capable of carrying out this type of attack’: Analyst

Principal MENA analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, Torbjorn Soltvedt, said the Houthis have shown in the past that they are “very much capable of carrying out this type of attack”.

The range of the attack “fit with previous similar attacks in Saudi Arabia”, Soltvedt told Al Jazeera.

In previous incidents, they [UAE] have been very measured in their response to such attacks, he said. A big part of that is the “very tense security environment that we have in the region”.

“One of the big questions is … whether or not there’s been any type of direct or indirect Iranian involvement in this attack,” Soltvedt added.

Etihad Airways says flights were briefly disrupted

An Etihad Airways spokesperson said a small number of flights were briefly disrupted at Abu Dhabi airport due to “precautionary measures”, but normal operations quickly resumed.

ADNOC says working with authorities to ‘determine exact cause’ of attack

ADNOC oil firm said an incident at its Mussafah Fuel Depot at 10:00am local time had resulted in a fire and that it was working with authorities to “determine the exact cause”.

“ADNOC is deeply saddened to confirm that three colleagues have died. A further six colleagues were injured and received immediate specialist medical care,” it said in a statement.

Police closed the road leading to the area.

“Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire,” Abu Dhabi police said.

Statement on ‘special military operation’ in UAE coming soon: Houthis

Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a Twitter post that an “important statement” is coming to “announce a special military operation in the depth of UAE”.

Houthis ‘frustrated’ over Saudi-UAE influence in Yemen: Al Jazeera correspondent

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, who has reported extensively on Yemen, said that the attack comes against the backdrop of a “massive military operation which is underway now in Yemen”.

“The Saudi-led coalition said yesterday that it has been intensifying their attacks in different areas around Marib, and also major Houthi strongholds,” Ahelbarra said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have been “frustrated” over what they say is growing Saudi-Emirati influence in Yemen, he said.

The attack on the UAE was carried out as a “show of defiance to the Saudis and the Emiratis,” Ahelbarra added.

“The Houthis are saying despite more than seven years of massive campaigns against us, we are more powerful than before … we have managed to further upgrade our military capabilities to the point that we can launch daring attacks inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”

Oil giant ADNOC facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu DhabiMen stand outside a storage facility of oil giant ADNOC in…

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Harrowing footage shows Ajmal Amani, 41, running at officers and being shot in the stomach and leg at the residential hotel where he lived in a city-rented room in San Francisco

Moment Afghan interpreter who suffered PTSD after serving with US special forces is shot and killed

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A former Afghan interpreter who suffered from PTSD after serving with US special forces has been shot dead after charging at cops with a six-inch kitchen knife.

Harrowing footage shows Ajmal Amani, 41, running at officers and being shot four times in the stomach and leg before slumping to the floor inside the narrow corridor of the residential hotel where he lived in a city-rented room in San Francisco.

Amani had been shot several times during his five years of service with the Navy SEALs in his homeland and had suffered from PTSD as a result, according to his former lawyer and case manager.

The interpreter, who came to the US on a visa in 2014, had been ordered to complete mental health treatment after prior criminal charges, including assault with a deadly weapon in 2019 for allegedly slashing a city park ranger with a box cutter. 

Police were called to the hotel on Friday morning after reports that a man was screaming and yelling and had a knife. Amani’s case manager also called 911 to report that a co-worker said Amani was having ‘a really bad episode.’

Harrowing footage shows Ajmal Amani, 41, running at officers and being shot in the stomach and leg at the residential hotel where he lived in a city-rented room in San Francisco

Harrowing footage shows Ajmal Amani, 41, running at officers and being shot in the stomach and leg at the residential hotel where he lived in a city-rented room in San Francisco

Amani had been shot several times during his five years of service with the US Army in his homeland and had suffered from PTSD as a result, according to his former lawyer and case manager (pictured: an undated photo showing Amani standing in front of a US military vehicle)

Amani had been shot several times during his five years of service with the US Army in his homeland and had suffered from PTSD as a result, according to his former lawyer and case manager (pictured: an undated photo showing Amani standing in front of a US military vehicle)

Harrowing footage shows Amani after he was shot lying in the corridor

Amani lying on the floor after being shot

Harrowing footage shows Amani after he was shot lying in the corridor

On Wednesday, police released hotel surveillance video and footage from officers’ body cameras.

They show Amani holding and gesturing with the knife, confronting two people, including someone who is fending him off with a broom, then walking past other people into a room.

When two officers arrive, the man with the broom tells them that Amani had threatened to kill him.

An officer tells the radio dispatcher that they can hear Amani screaming.

According to body camera video, the officers remain in the corridor and try to talk to Amani, who is in a room.

Amani swears and tells them to leave him alone and one officer says ‘nobody wants to hurt you.’

Less than a minute later, Amani charges down the hallway and is shot after an officer shouts: ‘Stay there! Stay there!’

Police said Amani was holding a knife with a 6-inch blade.

He was shot four times with a handgun and three times with bean-bag projectiles.

As Amani lay on the ground, still moving, more officers arrived.

They waited several minutes to cautiously approach him, then handcuffed him and used CPR and a tourniquet on him before paramedics arrived.

At a virtual town hall meeting where the video was released, Police Chief Bill Scott said his department and prosecutors were investigating the shooting.

Scott said he had personally offered condolences to Amani’s family.

He said that his officers received training on how to de-escalate volatile situations, keep their distance, and take time to avoid using force.

He added that ‘sometimes that works out with great outcomes, and sometimes the situation dictates other measures.’ 

Scott Grant, a deputy public defender who represented Amani, said he was ‘utterly devastated’ by his death.

Grant said Amani ‘suffered incredible trauma’ and violence during his time with US special forces. 

‘He suffered some of the most horrific trauma anyone could have gone through,’ Grant told the SF Standard. 

Amani running at cops with a blade at the Covered Wagon Hotel at 917 Folsom St., a residential hotel in South of Market

Amani runs at cops

Amani running at cops with a blade at the Covered Wagon Hotel at 917 Folsom St., a residential hotel in South of Market

Amani lying on the floor after he was shot by cops Friday

Amani lying on the floor after he was shot by cops Friday

In November 2019, Amani was arrested after crashing a car near Seventh Street off-ramp of Highway 80 in San Francisco.

He was accused of using a boxcutter to slash a city park ranger who stopped at the scene and tried to pull him from the wreckage, Grant said.

Grant said that Amani was suffering a ‘clear mental health episode.’

The interpreter was charged with attempted murder, among others in connection with the incident.

However, a judge dismissed the attempted murder charge early on and remaining assault charges were dropped after Amani completed a ‘mental health diversion’ order in August. 

‘The amount of work and transformation that he was able to do was unmatched,’ Grant told the Standard. ‘He was an inspiration in how much he accomplished.’

Afterward completing the mental health treatment Amani had been living at the hotel where he was killed on Friday.  

‘His tragic death is a failure of our systems of government here to support somebody who risked his life to support this country,’ Grant told KTVU-TV.

Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers, said his union was providing support to the officers involved. 

‘This is a tragic incident,’ Montoya said. ‘You not only have to look at the person who was shot but the trauma on the…

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US confirms soldier from east Tennessee killed in bombing

US confirms soldier from east Tennessee killed in bombing

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This photo provided by U.S. Army Special Forces Command shows Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss. The Defense Department said Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, that Knauss was killed in Thursday’s bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, along with 11 Marines and one Navy sailor. Eighteen other U.S. service members were wounded and more than 160 Afghans were killed in the bombing blamed on Afghanistan’s offshoot of the Islamic State group. (US Army Special Forces Command via AP)

This photo provided by U.S. Army Special Forces Command shows Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss. The Defense Department said Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, that Knauss was killed in Thursday’s bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, along with 11 Marines and one Navy sailor. Eighteen other U.S. service members were wounded and more than 160 Afghans were killed in the bombing blamed on Afghanistan’s offshoot of the Islamic State group. (US Army Special Forces Command via AP)

This photo provided by U.S. Army Special Forces Command shows Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss. The Defense Department said Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, that Knauss was killed in Thursday’s bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, along with 11 Marines and one Navy sailor. Eighteen other U.S. service members were wounded and more than 160 Afghans were killed in the bombing blamed on Afghanistan’s offshoot of the Islamic State group. (US Army Special Forces Command via AP)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A soldier from east Tennessee was one of 13 U.S. troops killed in a suicide bombing at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport this week, the Department of Defense said Saturday.

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, was killed in Thursday’s bombing, along with 11 Marines and one Navy sailor, the Defense Department said in a news release. Eighteen other U.S. service members were wounded and more than 160 Afghans were killed in the bombing blamed on Afghanistan’s offshoot of the Islamic State group.

Knauss had been stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and he was part of the 9th Psychological Operations Battalion, 8th Psychological Operations Group, the Defense Department said.

In a statement posted on Twitter on Saturday, 8th Psychological Operations Group Col. Jeremy Mushtare said Knauss’ death was “devastating to our formation and Army family.”

“Ryan was the embodiment of an Army Special Operations Forces soldier, a testament to the professionalism of the non-commissioned officer corps, and a steadfast husband and teammate,” the tweet said.

Corryton is located north of Knoxville. Knauss’ grandfather, Wayne Knauss, told WATE-TV the family received word of Ryan’s death Friday. Knauss said his grandson attended Gibbs High School and grew up in a Christian home.

“A motivated young man who loved his country,” Wayne Knauss said. “He was a believer, so we will see him again in God’s heaven.”

Stepmother Linnae Knauss said Ryan planned to move to Washington after he returned to the U.S.

“He was a super-smart hilarious young man,” she said.

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Stars and Stripes - Massachusetts cities honor veterans injured or killed in the line of duty

Stars and Stripes – Massachusetts cities honor veterans injured or killed in the line of duty

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The Purple Heart is one of the oldest commendations in American military history, dating back to the later years of the Revolutionary War and was originally designed as the Badge of Military Merit.

The Purple Heart is one of the oldest commendations in American military history, dating back to the later years of the Revolutionary War and was originally designed as the Badge of Military Merit. (Timothy Koster/U.S. Army)

METHUEN, Mass. (Tribune News Service) — Methuen, Haverhill and North Andover are now among Massachusetts’ newest Purple Heart communities after ceremonies marking the honor Saturday.

As Haverhill Veterans Services Director Luis Santiago explains, National Purple Heart Day is not necessarily one of congratulations.

“Purple Heart Day recognizes someone who had the courage to fight for our country against an enemy who was detrimental to our sovereignty,” Santiago said. “It’s about congratulating them for the hard work, discipline and the courage it takes for an individual to raise their right hand and fight for our country.”

Several local veterans were recognized by their communities at events at Haverhill’s G.A.R. Park, Methuen’s VFW Post 8349 and in North Andover’s old center. Lawrence, which is also a purple heart community, put up wreaths citywide to acknowledge its veterans.

According to Gerry Maguire, an Army veteran from Methuen who worked with a committee in his city to help push that Purple Heart community designation through with the help of councilors Jessica Finocchiaro, Mike Simard and others, roughly 17% of a city’s population is made up of veterans.

“The Purple Heart medal is no medal that anyone wants to have,” Maguire said. “No one wakes up and says, ‘Gee, I want to get shot today.’ To get it, you have to lose your life in combat or be wounded by enemy action.”

The Purple Heart used to be issued for meritorious service when it was first given out by George Washington. From 1942 on, the medal was limited to servicemen and servicewomen killed or wounded by enemy action on or after April 5, 1917.

“(Purple Heart Day) is a movement to honor veterans, but it’s also a scary day for veterans because it’s a national day now,” Maguire said. “Veterans are forced to remember how they got hurt, or how they saw their buddy get shot in the head. It can be a trigger. We want veterans to reach out if they need help.”

Committees in Methuen and Haverhill reached out to Brian Willette from the state’s Purple Heart Association for more information on how to secure their community’s Purple Heart access. Soon, signs distinguishing the cities’ Purple Heart designations will dot the outskirts of town.

In connection with Methuen’s designation as a Purple Heart community, the city issued a proclamation requesting residents and businesses display the American flag in a show of patriotism.

These cities should be “proud” to be added to the list, said retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major James Carabello of North Andover, who spoke at the Methuen event.

Those honored in Methuen Saturday were Arnold W. Greenwood, Albert Paplaskas, Joseph Montalto (Army Air Corps), Albert Campagnone, Carmen Campagnone, Bernard Campagnone Clifford Williams, Anthony Yemma, Rosaire Dubois, John McGurn, Jacob L. Armeen, Thomas F. Dorsey and William D. Liversidge, along with Marine veterans Anthony Haldane and John Wilford Roy, Air Force veteran John Hoegen Jr. and Navy veteran George Arnold Prunier.

Korean War Army veterans P. Norman Trembley and Daniel S. Judge; Vietnam Army veterans John A. Fontaine , Charles Bruder, Richard Gaudette, William Patenaude, Ronald Wilson, Richard Edward Potter and David Peter Bedrosian, along with Korean War Marine veterans Raymond Paplaskas, Michael Vercauteren; Afghanistan Marine veteran Eric Currier (deceased) and Iraq Marine veteran David Vicente (deceased) were also acknowledged Saturday in Methuen.

After the name of each deceased Purple Heart recipient was read in Methuen, a bell was rung to acknowledge their service and honor their memory.

In Haverhill, Marines Christopher Landers and Gerard Boucher were recognized at G.A.R. Park, along with Army veterans Stephen Bird and Donald Jarvis. Kevin Alder was also recognized.

Jarvis was ceremonially pinned in person at the event by his family. He received his Purple Heart earlier this year.

Landers, who was ambushed in Afghanistan in 2010, said he was shot in the head while stopped to render aid to other Marines after they had taken enemy fire. A Haverhill police officer, Landers, 34, was five months into his second tour when the convoy he was traveling with struck a roadside bomb and all four men inside had to be airlifted out of the zone to safety.

“As we were getting ready to go, I noticed nearby civilians had gone and were taking a much more dangerous route to avoid us, which is usually indicative of an ambush,” he remembered. “I started to warn people of that, and as I was climbing up the truck…

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