ranks with UAE Armed Forces and the United States holding off drone strikes against Al Qaeda has been denied by The Pentagon with Colonel Robert Manning, spokesperson of the Pentagon, calling the news source "patently false". According to The Independent, AQAP activity on social media as well as the number of reported attacks conducted by it has decreased since UAE intervention. On 30 April 2018 the UAE armed forces, as part of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, landed troops on the island of Socotra. The Independent newspaper reported that UAE has politically annexed the island and built a communications network, and conducted census and provided Socotra residents with free healthcare and work permits in Abu Dhabi. On 14 May 2018, a deal was brokered between UAE and Yemen for a joint military training exercise and the return of administrative control of Socotra's airport and seaport to Yemen. In June 2018, an offensive was carried out by UAE-led troops in Hodeidah. In June 2019, UAE announced a partial withdrawal of its troops by reducing armed forces fighting in Yemen. An official from UAE called the move a "strategic" redeployment. According to a Reuters report, the gulf nation ordered the withdrawal of its troops following security concerns, after tensions with Iran. UAE stated that it is shifting its focus from Houthi rebels to ISIS and al-Qaeda in Yemen. Islamic State In 2015, UAE Air Force dropped bombs on Islamic State targets in Syria. One of them was Major Mariyam Al Mansouri, the first female UAE Air Force pilot. Expansion In 1989, UAE purchased Scud-B ballistic missiles from North Korea. UAE went on an expansion drive in 1995, which began with the 1992–93 acquisition of 436 Leclerc tanks and 415 BMP-3 armoured vehicles. It had learned from the Iranian experiences with having a single supplier for its military and has diversified its arms purchases, purchasing weaponry mainly from Russia, the United States, the UK, Ukraine, France, Italy and Germany. It has also taken care to invest in the systems it has purchased and standardise them according to NATO/GCC Specifications. The equipment purchases was also followed by a programme to increase manpower numbers and Emiratisation programme for the Armed forces. In 2008, UAE bought MIM-104 Patriot missiles and related radar, support services for the Patriot systems. In 2011, during a war scare with Iran over the Straits of Hormuz, UAE announced a purchase of