Two senior commanders from Saudi Arabia and the UAE were amongst dozens of Gulf, Yemeni and Sudanese soldiers killed in a rocket strike in Yemen on 14 December.

A Russian-designed Tochka missile hit an army camp in the Dhubab area to the south-west of the city of Taiz in the early morning.

The UAE’s state news agency WAM said that officer Sultan Mohammed Ali Al Ketbi “fell while taking part in the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen”.

State-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Colonel Abdullah al-Sahian was killed along with Ketbi while both were “shouldering their duties in overseeing operations to liberate Taiz”.

The rocket attack is the worst set-back for the Gulf coalition since more than 60 Saudi and Emirati troops were killed in September at the al-Safer air base.

Representatives from both sides of the conflict are due to attend peace talks in Switzerland on 15 December.