Since the war started in February between Saudi-led forces and Yemen’s Houthi insurgent group, it is considered as deadliest day for the Saudi-led forces.
President Sisi also spoke with His Majesty the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and voiced his deepest condolences for the Bahraini soldiers who killed in Yemen.
Gen. Ahmed Asiri to broadcaster Al Hadath was the first public acknowledgement by the Saudis that they have ground troops in Yemen.
In a one-line statement, WAM news agency said 23 troops died of their wounds, after reporting earlier Friday that 22 had been killed while taking part in Saudi-led operations in Yemen against Shiite rebels known as Houthis.
Emirati officials vowed that the deaths in a missile attack in the battleground eastern oil province of Marib would not sap their commitment to the coalition’s mission to restore exiled president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. On his official Twitter feed, he said the “cowardly attack will not deter us”.
The explosion took place in Marib province near the border with Saudi Arabia, when Houthi rocket fire hit a weapons store at a military camp.
Emirates soldiers played a pivotal role in driving the Houthis out of the southern port city of Aden and curbing the gains made by the Houthis.
Obama said the two sides “share concerns” about the need to restore a functioning government in Yemen and relieve an urgent humanitarian crisis.
Over 4,300 people have been killed in five months of war in Yemen while disease and suffering in the already impoverished country have spread.
The United States has supported the coalition effort, but repeatedly warned about the effect the fighting has had on civilians.
An initial investigation, however, found that the blast was triggered by a surface-to-surface missile fired by the rebels, a Yemeni military source told AFP. The UAE and its allies will never allow Yemen to be stolen from its own people. Its warplanes are believed to have carried out strikes against Islamic militants in Libya in coordination with Egypt.
The UAE has announced a three-day mourning period around the country.
The coalition additionally has launched almost-continuous airstrikes within the rebel-held capital of Sanaa because the rebels’ Friday missile assault, demolishing a minimum of one constructing, Sanaa residents stated.