Airstrip being built on a Yemeni island during the ongoing war, with ‘I LOVE UAE’ next to it

As Yemen’s Houthi terrorists continue to target ships in a Mideast waterway, satellite pictures analyzed by The Associated Press show what appears to be a new airstrip being built at an entrance to that crucial maritime route.

No country has publicly claimed the construction taking place on Abd al-Kuri Island, a stretch of land rising out of the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. However, satellite images shot for the AP appear to show workers have spelled out “I LOVE UAE” with piles of dirt next to the runway, using an abbreviation for the United Arab Emirates.

Both the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to which it leads have become a battleground between the Houthis and U.S.-led forces in the region as Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip rages — potentially allowing a nation to project its power into the area.

The construction comes as the presence of troops from the Emirates in the Socotra island chain to which Abd al-Kuri belongs — and that of the separatist force it backs in southern Yemen — have sparked clashes in the past.

In response to questions from the AP, the United Arab Emirates said Thursday that “any presence of the UAE on Socotra island is based on humanitarian grounds that is carried out in cooperation with the Yemeni government and local authorities.”

“The UAE remains steadfast in its commitment to all international endeavors aimed at facilitating the resumption of the Yemeni political process, thereby advancing the security, stability, and prosperity sought by the Yemeni populace,” it added, without elaborating.

The Yemeni Embassy in Washington and Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition fighting the Houthis, did not respond to questions.

The U.S. military told the AP it is not involved in the construction on Abd al-Kuri, nor is there any American “military presence” elsewhere in Yemen. U.S. special forces have launched raids in the past in Yemen, while a two-decade American drone strike campaign has targeted the country’s local al-Qaida affiliate.

There also weren’t any air defense batteries immediately discernible around the Abd al-Kuri Island site in satellite imagery.

Since November, the Houthis have attacked ships, saying they want to force Israel to end its offensive in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. The ships targeted by the terrorists, however, largely have had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war. The terrorists also have fired missiles toward Israel, though they have largely fallen short or been intercepted.