Injured UAE serviceman welcomed home by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan

Hassan Al Ahbabi was injured in Yemen last year in the same helicopter crash as the Founding Father's grandson

The wounded officer was welcomed home by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan. Instagram @zayedhamdan

Hassan Al Ahbabi, one of the servicemen who was injured in a helicopter crash in Yemen’s Shabwa province in August last year, has returned to the UAE to a warm welcome from Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan.

Sheikh Zayed, the grandson of the country's Founding Father, was injured in the same crash in Yemen, where the UAE is leading the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Two Emirati soldiers were also injured in the crash, and four were killed.

Sheikh Zayed was given a hero's welcome when he returned to the country last February and he was received by the country's Rulers and leaders at Al Bahr Palace in Abu Dhabi.

He posted a photo of himself and Mr Al Ahbabi, both in wheelchairs, on his Instagram account on Saturday, thanking God for bringing his comrade  home safely.

“You are a hero, welcome back,” Sheikh Zayed said in the post.

The photo received about 25,000 likes and more than 1,000 comments, where people expressed their pride, called the two men heroes and wished them both a fast recovery.

Four soldiers died in the crash that injured the two servicemen: Capt Ahmed Khalifa Al Baloushi from Al Ain; Lt Jassem Saleh Al Zaabi from Ras Al Khaimah; Warrant Officer Mohammed Saeed Al Hassani from Fujairah; and Warrant Officer Sameer Mohammed Murad Abu Bakr from Ajman.