"Eleven people were killed. The search is still going on for survivors in the rubble," said Akram al-Ahdal, a relative of some of the victims. A medical source confirmed the death toll.

The air strikes hit two houses, leaving them in ruins, Ahdal said. The UAE is part of the Saudi-led pro-government coalition fighting rebel forces.

The late Monday strikes came hours after Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed a drone and missile attack on the UAE capital Abu Dhabi which killed three people and wounded six.

The Huthis have carried out repeated cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, but this is the first deadly assault acknowledged by the UAE inside its borders and claimed by the Yemeni insurgents.