DHAKA: Around 1,000 Qatari soldiers have been deployed to Yemen, as part of the Arab coalition’s fight against Houthi rebels.

An Al Jazeera journalist, reporting from the Saudi-Yemen border, said the troops were backed by more than 200 armored vehicles and 30 Apache combat helicopters.

The troops are now reportedly heading to Yemen’s Maareb province, to join the Saudi-led coalition already fighting in the area.

Al Jazeera has also learned that more Qatari forces are expected, with the aim of securing the Jawf governorate.

The news comes as coalition forces pounded the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sana’a with air strikes on Sunday, following the killing of 60 Gulf soldiers in a rebel missile attack on Friday.

The United Arab Emirates had pledged to quickly avenge its heaviest ever military loss, after 45 of its soldiers were killed in Friday’s strike, along with 10 Saudis and five Bahrainis, as well as four Yemeni troops.

‘Our revenge shall not take long,’ Emirati media quoted Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed as warning.

‘We will press ahead until we purge Yemen of the scum.’

Sunday’s bombardment was one of the heaviest of the six-month-old air campaign.

BDST: 1330 HRS, SEPT 07, 2015
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