ABU DHABI: The UAE said 45 of its soldiers engaged in a Saudi-led campaign against rebels in Yemen were killed in an accidental explosion that the insurgents claimed was caused by rocket fire.

In what was the deadliest day for the coalition since it was formed in March, Bahrain said five of its soldiers guarding the Saudi border with Yemen were also killed.

The Yemeni government said an “accidental explosion” at an arms depot at a military base in the eastern province of Marib killed the Emiratis, but the rebels said their fighters fired a rocket that caused the blast.

Coalition ally Bahrain said five of its soldiers were killed in southern Saudi Arabia where they had been posted to help defend the border with war-wracked Yemen. It did not give a precise location.

However, Yemen’s exiled presidency said the Bahrainis died in the same blast that killed the Emiratis.

The Arab coalition has battled Iran-backed Houthi rebels to restore the rule of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, exiled in Riyadh.

Around 60 people, mainly military personnel, have died in cross-border rebel attacks in the south of the Saudi kingdom since the coalition began air strikes on the Houthis and their allies.

The campaign began as the Houthis advanced on the southern port of Aden, after they took control of the capital Sanaa last September.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2015

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