Three dead and six wounded in suspected drone attack on Abu Dhabi

Three people have been killed with 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, UAE state news agency WAM reported, citing the police.

One Pakistani national and two Indian nationals were killed after the fuel trucks exploded, the report said. 

 

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. 

 

 

Police closed the road leading to the area.

 

“Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire,” Abu Dhabi police said.

 

Yemen's Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed on Monday they had launched the attack on the UAE, without elaborating. 

 

 

The UAE has been part of a Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015. On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said they detected multiple explosive-laden drones launched from the airport in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which is controlled by Houthis.

 

"Operations like this will continue so long as the offensive and blockade continue and it will encompass strategic targets," tweeted Ali al-Qhoom, a member of the Houthi's political bureau. "These operations will happen within the context of a legitimate response to the crimes and attacks of the UAE in Yemen."

 Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said in a Twitter post that an “important statement” is coming to “announce a special military operation in the depth of UAE”.

 

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.