LONDON: The US Department of Defense has strongly condemned an attack on Monday — reportedly carried out by the Iran-backed Houthi militia on the Saudi-Yemen border — that killed Bahraini service members and injured others.
The Pentagon said in a statement on Wednesday: “Such unacceptable attacks threaten the longest period of calm since the war in Yemen began.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the people of Bahrain, to our partners in the Bahrain Defense Force, and to the government of Bahrain.”
Bahrain’s military command said that a drone attack by Yemen’s Houthis killed two Bahraini soldiers, one of whom was an officer, at Saudi Arabia’s southern border early on Monday.
The military’s statement, which was carried by the state-run Bahrain News Agency, said “a number” of Bahraini soldiers, who had been patrolling the area as part of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, were also wounded in the strike.
A third Bahraini service member died on Wednesday, BNA reported.
The drone attack represents a major escalation in offensive actions after more than a year of relative calm in Yemen, during which peace efforts gained momentum.
Houthi officials last week completed five days of talks in Riyadh on a potential agreement toward ending the conflict, the first public visit by a Houthi delegation to Saudi Arabia since hostilities commenced.
