Iraqi militia attack on UAE a 'message from Iran'

The drone attack by a little-known armed group in Iraq on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week has raised questions about Baghdad's involvement in regional tensions between Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition. Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq (AWH), or the True Promise Brigades, claimed responsibility for the strike on the UAE on Wednesday, saying in a statement it launched "four drones targeting vital facilities in Abu Dhabi" in retaliation for the Emirates' policies in Iraq and Yemen. Several analysts linked the strikes to a shadowy militia Kataib Hezbollah (KH), a powerful Iran-backed Shia armed group in Iraq that has been listed by the United States as a "terrorist organisation". The incident brought to light that the UAE was now being targeted from its north and south, after three recent attacks launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Following the drone strikes, Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr condemned the attack in a statement, saying some "terrorist outlaws" have dragged Iraq into a "dangerous regional war" by targeting a Gulf state.