Hostage Rescue Highlights Deeper U.A.E. Role in Yemen’s War
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Troops from the United Arab Emirates are playing a deeper role in the Yemen conflict, freeing a British hostage held by al-Qaeda in Aden and helping coalition forces fighting Houthi rebels in the oil-rich Marib province.
Robert Douglas Semple, 64, a petroleum engineer kidnapped by al-Qaeda in February 2014, was freed by Emirati forces in Aden, the official WAM news agency said Sunday. U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed a British hostage had been rescued. In Marib, resident Mohammed al-Sharif said he saw the arrival of “huge forces,” which the Saudi-owned Asharq Alawsat newspaper said included Emirati soldiers.