Three people have been killed and six wounded in Abu Dhabi following suspected drone attacks carried out by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. A ...
Three people have been killed and six wounded in Abu Dhabi following suspected drone attacks carried out by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
A fire broke out at an extension of Abu Dhabi's main international airport and three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the Musaffah area near the storage facilities of ADNOC, Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company, on Monday.
One Pakistani national and two Indian nationals were killed after the fuel trucks exploded, UAE state news agency WAM reported, citing the police.
The six people who were wounded in the attack are suffering mild and medium injuries, officials added.
UAE police said preliminary investigations indicated the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire.
Yemen's Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed on Monday they had launched the attack on the UAE, without elaborating.
The UAE has been at war in Yemen since early 2015, and was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that launched attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthis after the group overran the capital of Yemen and ousted the internationally backed government from power.
Three people have been killed and six wounded in Abu Dhabi following suspected drone attacks carried out by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Pictured: Black smoke billows up into the air following suspected drone attack
The black smoke could be seen rising up into the air following the suspected drone attack
A fire broke out at an extension of Abu Dhabi's main international airport and three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the Musaffah area near the storage facilities of ADNOC, Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company, on Monday
Video footage from Abu Dhabi shows a black plume of smoke rising up into the sky from the area of one of the reported drone attacks.
A full investigation has been launched, the police said, without identifying the wounded.
Military spokesman Yahia Sarei of Yemen's Houthi movement, which is battling a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and including the UAE, said the group launched a military operation 'deep in the UAE' and would announce details in coming hours.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have claimed several attacks that Emirati officials later denied took place.
Police said one of the blasts struck three petroleum transport tankers near a storage facility for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Musaffah area. The neighborhood, 13 miles from the center of Abu Dhabi city, also has an oil pipeline network and 36 storage tanks, from which transport trucks carry fuel nationwide.
UAE authorities and ADNOC did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The coalition's spokesman did not immediately respond.
Men stand outside a storage facility of oil giant ADNOC in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, on January 17, following the suspected drone strike
Video footage from Abu Dhabi shows a black plume of smoke rising up into the sky from the area of one of the reported drone attacks
A long-range Samad-3 drone assembled by Houthi forces which was captured by the Saudis and inspected by a UN panel. It is still unknown whether drones were used in the attack
Yemen's Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed on Monday they had launched the attack on the UAE, without elaborating
Pro-coalition forces backed by the UAE have recently joined fighting against the Houthis in Yemen's energy-producing regions of Shabwa and Marib.
The UAE has been at war in Yemen since early 2015, and was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that launched attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthis after the group overran the capital of Yemen and ousted the internationally backed government from power.
Although the UAE has decreased the number of troops it has on the ground since 2019, it continues to be actively engaged in the war and supports key militias fighting the Houthis. It also cooperates closely with the United States in counter-terrorism operations in Yemen.
The suspected drone attack comes as the Saudi-led coalition said on Monday it had destroyed three explosive-laden drones launched in the direction of southern Saudi Arabia from Sana'a airport in Yemen, Saudi State TV reported.
It was not immediately clear whether the drone launch from Sana'a was related to the suspected attacks in Abu Dhabi.
The Houthis have come under pressure in recent weeks and are suffering heavy losses as Yemeni forces, allied and backed by the UAE, have pushed back the rebel group in key southern and central provinces of the country.
Yemen's government-aligned forces, aided by the UAE-backed Giants Brigades and with help from Saudi airstrikes, reclaimed the entire southern province of Shabwa from the Houthis earlier this month and made advances in nearby Marib province.
The incident comes as South Korea's President Moon Jae-in visits the UAE. During the president's meeting with Emirati Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Sunday, the two countries reportedly reached a preliminary deal valued at some $3.5 billion sell mid-range South Korean surface-to-air missiles to the UAE.
The Houthis have claimed previous attacks on Abu Dhabi's airport, as well as the emirate's Barakah nuclear power plant - claims that Emirati officials have denied in the past.
The Houthis have used bomb-laden drones to launch crude and imprecise attacks aimed at Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the course of the war. The group has also launched missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities and pipelines, as well as used booby-trapped boats for attacks in key shipping routes.
Though there have been civilian deaths in Saudi Arabia from some of these attacks, the overwhelming number of civilian deaths have been in Yemen. The war has killed 130,000 people in Yemen - both civilians and fighters - and has exacerbated hunger and famine across the impoverished country.
Houthi fighters ride vehicles carrying the coffins of slain comrades who were killed in recent fighting against Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen on January 10
Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, noted that while suspicion likely would fall on the Houthis, Iraqi-based militias also have threatened the Emiratis with attacks.
'Today's attack comes only days after Iran-backed groups threatened to strike against Abu Dhabi in response to alleged Emirati interference in Iraqi politics,' he said.
'The attack is another reminder of the highly complex missile and drone threat faced by the UAE and the region's other main oil producers,' he added. 'Unless the Gulf Cooperation Council states can find a solution to diffuse regional tensions, or deter hostility from regional state and non-state actors, they will remain vulnerable to attacks.'
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