UAE air defenses engaged 23 missiles, 56 drones, ministry says

The UAE’s air defenses engaged 23 ballistic missiles and 56 drones launched from Iran on Saturday, the defense ministry said.

It said that since the start of Iran’s attacks, its forces had engaged 498 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles and 2,141 drones.

The ministry said two members of the armed forces and a Moroccan civilian contractor had been killed so far, along with 10 foreign nationals, who were Pakistani, Nepali, Bangladeshi, Palestinian and Indian, and Egyptian.

A total of 217 people were also injured, with cases ranging from minor to severe, it said.

The injured included nationals of the UAE, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Uganda, Eritrea, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Comoros, Turkey, Iraq, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Ghana, Indonesia, Sweden, Tunisia, Morocco, and Russia, according to the statement.

The ministry said it remained ready to confront any threats to the country’s security and sovereignty.